A-League: O’Donovan draws a line in the sand

Roy O’Donovan hopes it’s the line in the sand that will allow him to get on with the job of playing and enjoying his football.

Roy O'Donovan with son Alfie after his return from a 10-match suspension

Roy O’Donovan hopes it’s the line in the sand that will allow him to get on with the job of playing and enjoying his football.

After serving a 10-match ban for a kick to the face of Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas in last season’s grand final, the controversial O’Donovan made his return to the field in the Newcastle Jet’s come-from-behind 2-1 win over Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on Sunday. And while he didn’t get on the score sheet, you could not wipe the smile off of his face.

It’s been a tough time for the Irishman, who has had to sit in the stands for the opening eight weeks of the A-League season after he was wiped out following his red card in the dying minutes of the grand final.

It was the second longest suspension in A-League history and followed his eight-game ban after he was cited for an incident while playing previously for the Mariners in December 2015.

O’Donovan, who also missed two FFA Cup games during his time out, was delighted to get the feel of a proper match again.

“I hope everything is now put to bed,” O’Donovan said. “It went on a bit longer than I liked and it was very hard having to watch from the stands for so long.

“Obviously no one was more devastated than me for what happened (in the grand final) and if I could turn back time I would.

“I paid a very harsh price for what happened, but hopefully now that’s a line in the sand and we move on now to football and good things to come.”

Given it was a derby and there is no love lost between the Jets and the Mariners, O’Donovan was on his best behaviour against his old club in a game that got quite heated and threatened to boil over at times.

Under normal circumstances he would have been in the thick of it all, but he acted the peacemaker on more than one occasion even if he admitted the Mariners had tried a bit of niggle in an effort get him going.

“At the start I went up for a ball and they (some of the opposition) said I was throwing my elbows around,” O’Donovan said when asked if he had come in for some special attention from his former teammates. “I didn’t think I was. I was using my arms for leverage. I think the referee was well aware of what was going on and I thought he did a very good job.”

O’Donovan managed to see out 85 minutes before being subbed, but he wasn’t surprised he had lasted so long after such a big break.

“I’ve done a lot of hard work at training so I felt fit. Of course, match fitness is different and that is a lot more to do with touches and movement,” he said. “I thought I got into good areas and was unlucky once or twice where the ball didn’t drop or my touches were not quite in the right spot but that will come.

“I was just very happy we won because the Mariners made it very difficult, which I am glad to see that they are giving teams a right go.

“It was a good, honest game of football and we edged it.”

O’Donovan doesn’t expect it will take long for him to regain his touch and sharpness.

“Hopefully, not long. It’s just good to get everything out of the way because there was a lot in this week, a lot of media stuff and scrutiny on me for my return,” he added.

“For me, it is just about playing the game as best I could and, hopefully, the chance would come to score. I was a little unlucky but match sharpness-wise I am not far away … another week or two and I’ll be fine.”

O’Donovan’s return could not come at a better time for the Jets, who have been struggling for consistency this season. Last week’s 2-0 loss to Perth Glory was a setback and they needed to bounce back quickly against their neighbours.