It has been a fine start to the season for Conor Hourihane. The Cork man has notched up two goals and three assists in the five games Barnsley have played so far this season, continuing on where he left off last season (when he assisted seventeen goals, scoring eleven). His recent exploits have arguably been more impressive, however, coming in the Championship after Barnsley's promotion from League One last year.
Hourihane (whose past awards include the League One Player of the Month and the much-coveted 'Cork Person of the Month') might feel slightly aggrieved that he missed out on a place in Martin O'Neill's Republic of Ireland squad for the opening World Cup qualifying match against Serbia. Especially with Callum O'Dowda earning inclusion having spent last year playing at a level lower than Hourihane (at Oxford United) and Stephen Quinn coming on against Serbia despite being mostly a substitute at Reading so far.
But now Hourihane has been rewarded for his early-season endeavours by picking up the Championship 'Player of the Month' award for August. Here is an example of the form that earned the 25-year old the award:
— Barnsley FC (@bfc_official) September 9, 2016
Barnsley currently lie in third place in the Championship, just ahead of Daryl Murphy and Ciaran Clark's Newcastle. And Tykes manager Paul Heckingbottom used the award to put out a call for Hourihane to be called up by O'Neill.
Although he’s stepped up a league, Conor’s performances have continued to improve and it shows the strides he’s making. It’s fully deserved and hopefully now if he keeps this run of form going and reproduces it in the next month he’ll be pushing for an international call-up.
As Barnsley's captain, if Hourihane continues his good form and the Tykes push for promotion this year it will be increasingly hard for O'Neill to ignore him. Critics of the performance against Serbia - where the Irish were lucky to escape with a draw - will argue that O'Neill can't afford to.
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