Kevin O'Connor (footballer, born 1995)

Kevin O'Connor
Personal information
Full name Kevin Patrick O'Connor[1]
Date of birth (1995-05-07) 7 May 1995 (age 29)[2]
Place of birth Enniscorthy, Ireland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Left back
Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 FC Naples
Youth career
St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Waterford 43 (3)
2015–2017 Cork City 69 (3)
2017–2020 Preston North End 8 (0)
2018 → Fleetwood Town (loan) 4 (0)
2018 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 6 (0)
2019 → Cork City (loan) 18 (1)
2020 → Waterford (loan) 4 (1)
2020 Cork City 13 (0)
2021 Shelbourne 25 (1)
2022 Cork City 28 (2)
2025– FC Naples 0 (0)
International career‡
2011–2012 Republic of Ireland U17 3 (0)
2016–2017 Republic of Ireland U21 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:26, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:14, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Kevin Patrick O'Connor (born 7 May 1995) is an Irish footballer who plays as a full-back for FC Naples in the USL League One.

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, he signed for League of Ireland club Cork City on 28 April 2015.[3] On 31 August 2015, he scored his debut goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over St Patrick's Athletic.[4] 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.[5] On 6 December 2016, he renewed his contract with the club for the 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division season.[6]

England

On 30 June 2017, O'Connor signed for English Championship club Preston North End on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[7] 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.[8] He made his league debut in a 2–0 defeat against Aston Villa in November.[9] He received praise of club manager Alex Neil for his performance.[10]

In 2018, O'Connor had a loan spell at Fleetwood Town, making five first team appearances. In August 2018, he was signed on loan by Crewe Alexandra until January 2019,[11] making his Crewe debut in a 3-0 home win over Macclesfield Town.[12]

United States

On 13 December 2024, it was announced that O'Connor would join third-tier US side FC Naples ahead of their inaugural season in the USL League One in 2025.[13]

Style of play

Cork City manager John Caulfield has described O'Connor as a "strong, quick, left-footed" player.[3] O'Connor has said that although he is a full back, he prefers playing as an attacking full-back.[14]

Personal

O'Connor won €1,000,000 in the Irish National Lottery's 2017 Christmas Millionaire Raffle, with a ticket bought as a Christmas present by his uncle.[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 21 October 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Waterford 2013[16] LOI First Division 21 1 0 0 1 0 — — 22 1
2014[16] 22 2 0 0 1 0 — — 23 1
Cork City 2015[16] LOI Premier Division 21 1 3 0 1 0 2[a] 0 — 27 1
2016[16] 28 1 3 0 2 0 6[a] 1 — 39 2
2017[16] 20 1 0 0 0 0 4[a] 0 1[b] 0 25 1
Preston North End 2017–18[16] Championship 8 0 0 0 1 0 — — 9 0
Fleetwood Town (loan) 2017–18[16] League One 4 0 0 0 0 0 — 1[c] 0 5 0
Crewe Alexandra (loan) 2018–19[17] League Two 6 0 1 0 0 0 — 3 0 10 0
Cork City (loan) 2019[16] LOI Premier Division 18 1 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 2[d] 1 23 2
Waterford (loan) 2020[16] LOI Premier Division 4 1 — — — — 4 1
Waterford Total 47 4 0 0 2 0 — — 49 4
Cork City 2020[16] LOI Premier Division 13 0 2 0 — — 0 0 15 0
Shelbourne 2021[16] LOI First Division 25 1 1 0 — — — 26 1
Cork City 2022[16] LOI First Division 28 2 2 0 — — 0 0 30 2
Cork City Total 128 6 10 0 4 0 13 1 3 1 158 8
Career total 218 11 12 0 7 0 13 1 7 1 240 13
  1. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearance in President of Ireland's Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in EFL Cup
  4. ^ 1 appearance, 1 goal in President of Ireland's Cup & 1 appearance in Munster Senior Cup

References

  1. ^ "CLUB LIST OF REGISTERED PLAYERS AS AT 19th MAY 2018" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Kevin O'Connor". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b "O'Connor joins Premier outfit". Wexford People. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Cork overcome Pat's to increase pressure on Dundalk". The42.ie. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Here's the volley that sealed another famous European victory for Cork City". The42.ie. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. ^ "OFFICIAL: Kevin O'Connor signs new Cork City deal". Goal.com. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Preston North End Agree To Sign Cork City's Kevin O'Connor". Preston North End F.C. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  8. ^ "O'Connor makes Preston debut as he lines out alongside fellow Irishmen". The42.ie. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  9. ^ "O'Connor: 'It's Great To Get The Opportunity". Preston North End F.C. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  10. ^ "PNE boss offers praise to Irish pair Boyle and O'Connor". RTE. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Kevin O'Connor Joins On Loan". Crewe Alexandra F.C. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Crewe Alexandra 3-0 Macclesfield Town". BBC Sport. BBC. Press Association. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  13. ^ Staff, USLLeagueOne com (13 December 2024). "FC Naples add Irish fullback Kevin O'Connor to inaugural roster". USL League One.
  14. ^ "O'Connor Delighted With 'Massive Opportunity'". Preston North End F.C. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  15. ^ "Kevin O'Connor claims €1m Lotto win". BreakingNews.ie. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.; "Preston North End's Kevin O'Connor wins Irish lottery". BBC Online. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Kevin O'Connor". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Games played by Kevin O'Connor in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 September 2018.