Kevin Patrick O'Connor (born 7 May 1995) is an Irish footballer who plays as a full-back for League of Ireland First Division side Cork City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin Patrick O'Connor[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-05-07) 7 May 1995 (age 27)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Enniscorthy, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) |
Left back Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Cork City | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| 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 | 14 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2011–2012 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 4 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 May 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10:14, 19 October 2017 (UTC) | |||
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]
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]
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.[13]
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.[14]
| 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[15] | LOI First Division | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2014[15] | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||||
| Cork City | 2015[15] | LOI Premier Division | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | |
| 2016[15] | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | — | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2017[15] | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
| Preston North End | 2017–18[15] | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2017–18[15] | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Crewe Alexandra (loan) | 2018–19[16] | League Two | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Cork City (loan) | 2019[15] | LOI Premier Division | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 23 | 2 |
| Waterford (loan) | 2020[15] | LOI Premier Division | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Waterford Total | 47 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 4 | ||||
| Cork City | 2020[15] | LOI Premier Division | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Shelbourne | 2021[15] | LOI First Division | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Cork City | 2022[15] | LOI First Division | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Cork City Total | 114 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 142 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 204 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 224 | 11 | ||
Cork City F.C. – current squad | |
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Awards | |
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