Cillian O'Connor gets the better of this duel against Brian Fenton but the Dublin midfielder has been named the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Year ahead of the Mayo star following his exploits in 2020. Photo: Sportsfile

O'Connor loses out to Fenton in Player of the Year contest

Cillian O'Connor has lost out to Dublin's Brian Fenton in contest for the PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Year Award in football.

Fenton's team-mate Ciaran Kilkenny was also in the running for the award.

Raheny man Fenton has the incredible record of never having lost a senior championship game while wearing the Sky Blue of Dublin, and he picked up his sixth All-Ireland title last year, the Dubs beating Mayo in the final in late December.

O'Connor's nomination for the top individual award came on the back of an incredible 2020 in terms of scoring. He nailed 5-40 in five championship games, an average of 11 points per game, and 5-12 of his overall tally came from play. He also achieved the all-time scoring record in a single championship match in scoring 4-9 against Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final.

There's more to his game than scoring, as his record of leading the team in securing turnovers proves.

For Fenton it's a second Player of the Year award after also picking up the 2018 gong. “Pretty mindblowing,” he said when he was named the winner ahead of O'Connor and Kilkenny at this evening's All-Star Awards programme on RTÉ One.