Shane O'Connor (footballer)

Shane O'Connor (born 14 April 1990) is an Irish footballer.

Shane O'Connor
Personal information
Full name Shane Edward O'Connor[1]
Date of birth (1990-04-14) 14 April 1990[2]
Place of birth Cork, Ireland[2]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Left back / Winger
Youth career
Wilton United
Rockmount
2006–2009 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Ipswich Town 17 (0)
2011–2012 → Port Vale (loan) 0 (0)
2012 Cork City 5 (0)
2012 Shamrock Rovers 3 (0)
2013–2014 Portadown 10 (0)
2014 Limerick 11 (0)
2015–2016 Cobh Ramblers 50 (9)
2017 Waterford 23 (4)
2018 Longford Town 3 (0)
2018–2019 Cobh Ramblers 12 (1)
National team
Republic of Ireland U17
Republic of Ireland U19
2011 Republic of Ireland U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:00, 19 March 2019 (UTC)

A graduate of the Liverpool F.C. Academy, he signed professionally with Ipswich Town in July 2009. He represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17, under-19, and under-21 levels. He joined Port Vale on a six-week loan spell in November 2011, though did not make a first team appearance. He left Ipswich in January 2012 and subsequently had spells signed with Cork City, Shamrock Rovers, Portadown, Limerick, Cobh Ramblers, Waterford and Longford Town. He helped the Waterford to win promotion as champions of the League of Ireland First Division in 2017. He spent the first half of 2018 with Longford Town, before rejoining Cobh Ramblers in July 2018.

Club career

Early career

O'Connor played for Wilton United and Rockmount before joining the Liverpool Academy as a sixteen-year-old.[3][4][5] He started playing regularly for the under-18 side in the early 2008–09 Premier Academy League season.

Ipswich Town

In July 2009, after a short trial O'Connor signed a one-year deal with Championship side Ipswich Town, who were managed by his boyhood hero, Roy Keane.[6][7] O'Connor made his debut for Ipswich in the League Cup away against Shrewsbury Town, replacing Jack Ainsley as a substitute at half-time; the "Tractor Boys" went on to win the match on penalties following a 3–3 draw.[8] He made his first league start for Ipswich on 20 February, in a 1–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. He played a further eleven league games for Ipswich in 2009–10; he impressed in midfield against Cardiff City,[9] though gave away a penalty in a draw at home to Doncaster Rovers.[10] At the end of the campaign he was handed a new two-year deal, which he eventually signed.[11] However experienced player Mark Kennedy was also signed for a £75,000 fee, and was expected to battle O'Connor for the left-back spot.[12]

He appeared in five of the club's first six games of 2010–11, but was then dropped from the first team after suffering from a torn hamstring on international duty,[13][14] and did not play again until a three-game spell in December. He set up Jason Scotland for Ipswich's third in a 3–0 win over Leicester City at Portman Road on 18 December.[15] However he ruptured and dislocated his shoulder joint,[16] and so did not appear again until 25 January, in a 3–0 League Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.[17] This was his last contribution to the campaign, and he was not selected again under Paul Jewell's stewardship, with whom he had a poor relationship.[18]

At the start of the 2011–12 season, he rejected a six-month loan deal at Crawley Town.[19] However he did not feature for Ipswich, and so in November 2011, he joined Crawley's League Two rivals Port Vale on loan.[20] He saw the loan as an opportunity to win a permanent contract away from Portman Road.[21] He played a number of reserve games,[22] but never made a matchday squad at Vale Park before his loan spell ended in January; he felt disillusioned upon his arrival at the club when manager Micky Adams asked him what position he played.[18] He then had a trial with Southend United, also of League Two,[23] before leaving Ipswich Town by mutual consent on 20 January.[24] He later admitted he struggled with depression and problem gambling after leaving the English professional football scene, and as a result lost 50% of the footballing ability he had at Ipswich.[18]

I always felt like a failure, to be honest, and it’s something I’ve found very, very difficult to get over. It’s not yet something I can see as an achievement... The margin is slim and I came out on the wrong side of it. I could have done more. I should have done more. There was some bad luck, but I could have done a few things differently too. I left something behind me and that’s not an easy thing to come to terms with.

— Speaking in September 2018, O'Connor said that he was still unable to take any pride in his football career.[18]

League of Ireland

He was linked with a move into Irish football, as both Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers expressed an interest in acquiring his services.[25] He was revealed as a Cork City player on 2 February 2012.[26] He made only five league appearances for the "Leesiders". He went on trial at Crawley Town in July 2012.[27]

O'Connor signed for Shamrock Rovers on 31 July.[28] He made his competitive debut for Rovers in the final of the 2012 Leinster Senior Cup, which ended in a 1–0 win over St Patrick's CY.[29] He made his League of Ireland debut against Bohemians the following week, and made a total of five appearances for the "Hoops".[30] O'Connor signed with Portadown in October 2013.[31] He spent the 2014 season with Limerick, playing 11 League of Ireland Premier Division games. He dropped into the League of Ireland First Division to play for Cobh Ramblers in January 2015.[32] He was voted the club's Player of the Year for the 2015 season.[33] He went on to score nine goals in 26 league appearances during the 2016 campaign.

In January 2017, he signed for First Division rivals Waterford.[18] He also began working machinery operative at Dublin Port.[18] He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat at Athlone Town on 24 February.[34] He scored his first goal for the "Blues" in a 1–1 draw at Shelbourne on 30 June.[35] On 21 July, O'Connor scored twice against former side Cobh Ramblers in a 4–0 win that put Waterford nine points clear of Cobh Ramblers and UCD at the top of the table with just seven games to play in the division.[36] O'Connor continued his run of form with the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over UCD on 18 August.[37] Waterford were crowned First Division champions following a 3–0 victory over Wexford, finishing eight points ahead of second-placed Cobh Ramblers, and promoted back to the Premier Division.[38] O'Connor finished the 2017 season with 26 appearances and four goals to his name, and was voted as the club's Player of the Year by the members of the Blues Supporters Club.[39]

On 18 January 2018, O'Connor signed a one-year contract with First Division side Longford Town.[40] Injury restricted him to just three appearances before he left Strokestown Road in June 2018.[41] He then relocated to work as a courier for the Health Service Executive.[18] He re-joined Cobh Ramblers in July 2018 and featured four times in the 2018 season, including an appearance in the 2018 League of Ireland Cup final defeat to Derry City at Brandywell Stadium; his penalty was saved by Gerard Doherty in the last kick of the game and the score ended as 3–1 to Derry.[42]

International career

He made his debut appearance for the Republic of Ireland national under-21 team on 26 March 2011, in what ended as a 2–1 defeat to Portugal at the Estádio Municipal de Águeda; he was replaced by Ipswich teammate Conor Hourihane at half-time.[43] He previously appeared for the under-17 and under-19 side.[2]

Career statistics
As of match played 19 March 2019.
Club Season Division League National Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ipswich Town2009–10[44]Championship120001000130
2010–11[45]Championship5000400090
2011–12[46]Championship0000000000
Total 170005000220
Port Vale (loan)2011–12[46]League Two0000000000
Cork City2012[47]LOI Premier Division5000200070
Shamrock Rovers2012[47]LOI Premier Division3010000040
Portadown2013–14[48]NIFL Premiership100001000110
Limerick2014[47]LOI Premier Division110000000110
Cobh Ramblers2015[47]LOI First Division240002000260
2016[47]LOI First Division269101000289
Total 509103000549
Waterford2017[49]LOI First Division234003000264
Longford Town2018[49]LOI First Division3000000030
Cobh Ramblers2018[49]LOI First Division3000100040
2019[47]LOI First Division91002000111
Total 121003000151
Career total 13414201700014714

Honours
Waterford
Cobh Ramblers
Individual

References
  1. "Shane O'Connor". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. "Profile". itfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  3. "Shane O'Connor". Green Scene. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  4. "Shane O'Connor signs for Ramblers". cobhramblers.ie. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  5. Shaw, Steve (3 December 2011). "O'Connor is Keane to pass on credit for his career". The Sentinel. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  6. "Shane to sign deal". itfc.co.uk. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 24 July 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  7. "Ipswich complete O'Connor signing". BBC Sport. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  8. "Shrewsbury 3–3 Ipswich". BBC Sport. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  9. "Ipswich 2 - 0 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  10. "Ipswich 1 - 1 Doncaster". BBC Sport. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  11. "Defender Shane O'Connor signs new Ipswich Town deal". BBC Sport. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  12. "Ipswich close on Cardiff City defender Mark Kennedy". BBC Sport. 24 July 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  13. "Ipswich Town trio handed fitness boost". BBC Sport. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  14. "Ipswich boss Roy Keane lining up Premier League loan". BBC Sport. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  15. "Ipswich 3 - 0 Leicester". BBC Sport. 19 December 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  16. "Ipswich Town dealt Brian Murphy and Shane O'Connor blow". BBC Sport. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  17. "Arsenal 3 - 0 Ipswich (agg 3 - 1)". BBC Sport. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  18. Dollery, Paul (9 September 2018). "'I left something behind me and that's not an easy thing to come to terms with'". The42. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  19. "Paul Jewell has 'fierce' Ipswich Town drive". BBC Sport. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  20. "Port Vale sign three players on loan ahead of deadline". BBC Sport. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  21. "Port Vale: O'Connor out to impress potential suitors". The Sentinel. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  22. Questier, Joe (13 December 2011). "Reserves Host Burton". port-vale.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  23. "Ipswich Town's Shane O'Connor joins Southend United on trial". BBC Sport. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  24. "Ipswich Town cancel Shane O'Connor contract". BBC Sport. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  25. "Dundalk step up their pursuit of Shane O'Connor". thescore.ie. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  26. Buckley, Eanna (2 February 2012). "Shane O'Connor Signs for City, Sullivan & Murphy Re-sign". corkcityfc.net. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  27. "Crawley eyeing former Ipswich defender". talksport.co.uk. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  28. "Rovers add defender Shane O'Connor to their squad". rte.ie. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  29. "Rovers 1:0 St Patricks CY". shamrockrovers.ie. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  30. "Rovers 0:1 Bohemians". www.shamrockrovers.ie. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  31. "Former Ipswich ace signs on with Ports". Portadown Times. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  32. "Shane O'Connor signs for Ramblers – Cobh Ramblers Football Club". cobhramblers.ie. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  33. "Noel Spillane chats with Shane O'Connor – Cobh Ramblers Football Club". cobhramblers.ie. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  34. "Athlone Town 1 (Coss 88') Waterford FC 0 - Waterford FC". Waterford FC. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  35. "Shelbourne v Waterford FC - SSE Airtricity League - 30/06/2017 - Waterford FC". Waterford FC. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  36. "MATCH REPORT: Waterford FC 4-0 Cobh Ramblers - Waterford FC". Waterford FC. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  37. "MATCH REPORT: Waterford FC 1-0 UCD - Waterford FC". Waterford FC. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  38. "Waterford FC Crowned First Division Champions - Waterford FC". Waterford FC. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  39. "O'Connor Names Supporters Club Player of the Year - Waterford FC". Waterford FC. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  40. Dempsey, Andrew (18 January 2018). "Longford Town sign midfielder Shane O'Connor from Waterford - ExtraTime.ie". ExtraTime.ie. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  41. "Longford Town facing tough task away to league leaders UCD". Longford Leader. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  42. "EA Sports Final". sseairtricityleague.ie. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  43. "Late goals shade it for Portugal U21s". The Football Association of Ireland. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  44. "Games played by Shane O'Connor in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  45. "Games played by Shane O'Connor in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  46. "Games played by Shane O'Connor in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  47. Shane O'Connor at Soccerway
  48. Shane O'Connor at Soccerway
  49. Shane O'Connor at Soccerway
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