Kevin Patrick O'Connor (born 7 May 1995) is an Irish footballer who plays as a full-back.

Club career

Republic of Ireland

Born in 1995, O'Connor began his career with Waterford United in 2013. In his second season with the club, he scored twice, once in a 3–1 victory against Wexford and another goal in a 1–1 draw against Galway. After trialling with English Championship club

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, he signed for League of Ireland club Cork City on 28 April 2015. On 31 August 2015, he scored his debut goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

. On 22 July 2016, he scored the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over Swedish club Häcken in the UEFA Europa League. He volleyed a free kick of Greg Bolger, which entered the goal following a deflection from Häcken defender Emil Wahlstrom. On 6 December 2016, he renewed his contract with the club for the

2017 League of Ireland Premier Division The 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 33rd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on Friday 24 February 2017 and concluded on 27 October 2017. Fixtures were announced on 9 December 2016. On 17 October, ...

season.

England

On 30 June 2017, O'Connor signed for English Championship club

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. On 8 August, he made his debut for the club, featuring in a 3–2 defeat against League Two club Accrington Stanley in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. He made his league debut in a 2–0 defeat against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in November. He received praise of club manager Alex Neil for his performance. In 2018, O'Connor had a loan spell at

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed ...

, making five first team appearances. In August 2018, he was signed on loan by Crewe Alexandra until January 2019, making his Crewe debut in a 3-0 home win over Macclesfield Town.

Style of play

Cork City manager John Caulfield has described O'Connor as a "strong, quick, left-footed" player. O'Connor has said that although he is a full back, he prefers playing as an attacking full-back.

Personal

O'Connor won €1,000,000 in the

Irish National Lottery The National Lottery ( ga, An Crannchur Náisiúnta) is the state-licensed lottery operator in the Republic of Ireland. Established in 1986 to raise funds for good causes, it began operations on 27 March 1987 when it issued its first Scratchcar ...

's 2017 Christmas Millionaire Raffle, with a ticket bought as a Christmas present by his uncle.;

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Kevin 1995 births Living people Men's association football defenders Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Sportspeople from Enniscorthy Waterford F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players League of Ireland players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Lottery winners Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Association footballers from County Wexford English Football League players