THERE were so many heroic performances last Sunday that it feels unfair to single one out.

However, I’ve been intending to sing the praises of Tom O’Connor for a while and, once more, he showed us his value.

When we signed him last season, I thought we’d pulled off quite a coup.

After all, this was a player whose statistics stacked up brilliantly well in League One, both in terms of attacking and defensive data.

If he could dominate games for Burton Albion, two levels higher than we are, what could he do in the National League?

As it turned out, the immediate answer was not very much! Injuries disrupted his bedding-in period at the club, and he suffered from a lack of continuity which extended deep into this season.

When he arrived, he was always going to have a battle to force himself ahead of Luke Young, Jordan Davies and James Jones: the arrival of Elliot Lee in the summer only made affairs even more competitive!

It didn’t help O’Connor that his first appearance of this season was not a successful one. He looked good in pre-season, but picked up a minor knock which robbed him of the last part of his summer preparation.

When he lined up at Chesterfield, for a massive second game of the campaign, it was clear that Phil Parkinson intended to use rotation a great deal more this season. He made significant changes from the side which had beaten Eastleigh three days earlier.

However, a disappointing performance from the team as a whole meant he had to re-visit his plans.

O’Connor had been outstanding in a victory at Chesterfield the season before, but now he suffered the disappointment of being part of a midfield which was overwhelmed by The Spireites.

As a consequence, that battle to claim a regular spot became even more difficult.

Even Lee was not claiming a place in the starting XI at that point of the season, despite his obvious ability and dazzling substitute performances.

Inevitably it was Lee who got the first shot when the midfield was shuffled, and O’Connor had to wait his turn.

When he did get his opportunity, though, he took it with both hands. His recent form has been outstanding, and the Coventry victory showed his skills off to a fault.

Obviously, he scored the third goal, which turned out to be rather important! Not only that though, his passing was a delight. Which was my favourite O’Connor moment of the match? There are plenty to choose from.

I’d probably select the point where he was put under intense pressure in midfield, with the situation meaning that we’d be left wide open if he lost the ball, but responded by keeping his cool, skinning his man, and pinging a perfect cross-field ball for Reece Hall-Johnson. Seconds later, the ball was in Coventry’s net.

O’Connor was equally impressive against Sheffield United.

Is it really a coincidence that he has stood out when the opposition has been at its strongest?

Those all-round stats I mentioned earlier, which suggested that he is adept both with and without the ball, really rang true on Sunday. Forced to drop into the back three after ten minutes, he defended superbly, getting in a number of decisive interceptions and blocks.

At the other end he not only scored, but got on the end of a couple of other set pieces in a threatening manner.

Since arriving at The Racecourse, Parkinson’s signings have been very precise responses to the needs of his squad.

If you look across his midfield options, you see a full range of capabilities, a mixture of defensive solidity and attacking flair, and players who are comfortable on both left and right foot.

He’s got a terrifically high success rate for us in the transfer market, and it felt from the moment he signed that O’Connor was a major capture. In recent weeks, he’s finally had the chance to show exactly why his arrival was such a coup.

We return to Altrincham looking to make amends for our FA Trophy exit there on penalties last month.

However, it should be said that we fielded a completely changed side for that match, and it still took a deflected last minute strike to deny us.

We’ve enjoyed some impressive wins at Alty in recent seasons: last season Aaron Hayden and Bryce Hosannah scored in a 2-0 win, and the previous campaign, Kwame Thomas’s double secured a 2-1 win in a game played at FC United’s ground as the Moss Lane pitch was proving problematic.