Full name Anthony Dean O'Connor Playing position 2008–2011 Blackburn Rovers Weight 75 kg | Place of birth Cork, Ireland Number 15 Height 1.85 m | |
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Date of birth (1992-10-25) 25 October 1992 (age 24) Current team Aberdeen F.C. (#15 / Defender) Similar Jayden Stockley, Graeme Shinnie, Shay Logan, Peter Pawlett, Jonny Hayes | ||
Anthony Dean O'Connor (born 25 October 1992) is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Scottish club Aberdeen as a defender or as a midfielder. He previously played in England for Blackburn Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Burton Albion and has represented the Republic of Ireland under-21 team.
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Blackburn Rovers
Born in Cork, O'Connor joined the academy setup at Blackburn Rovers 2008, having previously played for Kilreen Celtic and Nu Farm. In the summer of 2011, O'Connor signed his first professional contract.
In October 2012, O'Connor signed a new contract with Blackburn Rovers, that will keep him until 2015. Ahead of the 2013–14 season, O'Connor was given number twenty-eight shirt at the club.
Loan Spells
On 15 August 2012, he joined Football League Two side Burton Albion on an initial one-month loan. His professional debut for Burton came on 18 August 2012, in a 3–0 defeat to Rotherham United at the New York Stadium. On 11 September 2013, O'Connor's loan spell at Burton was extended January 2013. During that time, he became a regular at the Pirelli Stadium and his loan spell was again extended, this time until the end of the season. In total, O'Connor made 53 appearances in all competitions for the club during the 2012–13 season. Burton Albion made their attempts to sign O'Connor for the second time ahead of the season, but this was proven to be unsuccessful.
On 1 October 2013, O'Connor joined League Two side Torquay United on a one-month loan deal. On 29 October 2013, O'Connor extended his loan at Torquay by a further month, keeping him at Plainmoor until 30 November 2013. Two days after his loan had expired, Torquay decided to extend his stay once again by a further month, thus keeping him at the club until the end of December 2013. Shortly after extending his loan spell, O'Connor was named as the club's Player of the Month for November. Throughout the season O'Connor was unable to help the club survive relegation to Football Conference, as he made twenty-four appearance for the club and despite this, O'Connor was named 2013–14 Young Player of the Season.
Plymouth Argyle
Despite his aim to make a breakthrough for Blackburn Rovers in the 2014–15 season, O'Connor, joined Plymouth Argyle on loan until 10 January 2015. On 16 August 2014 O'Connor made his Plymouth debut, playing as defensive midfielder, in a 3–0 win over rivals, Exeter City. Between August and February, O'Connor "operated in a holding role in front of the defence" and played "either in a midfield holding role or as a centre-back" which led Manager John Sheridan to praise his performance.
On 2 February 2015, O'Connor signed for Plymouth Argyle, with Plymouth taking over Blackburn's existing contract for the defender, which was set to expire at the end of the season. A vastly successful loan spell followed, which saw the League Two side rocket up to 4th in the table. O'Connor's first game after signing for the club on a permanent basis came five days later, in a 1–0 win over Accrington Stanley. O'Connor scored his first Plymouth goal on 7 March 2015, in a 2-0 win over Northampton Town, however O'Connor suffered a groin injury that kept him out for a month. O'Connor made his return to the first team against Mansfield Town on 11 April 2015, which he scored in a 2-1 win, followed up by scoring another goal, in a 1-1 draw against AFC Wimbledon on 14 April 2015. O'Connor then featured in both legs of the play-offs, playing in central-midfield against Wycombe Wanderers, which Plymouth lost 5-3 on aggregate. O'Connor made forty appearance for the club in the 2014-15 season.
At the expiration of his contract, O'Connor left the club.
Burton Albion
On 18 July 2015, O'Connor signed a two-year deal with Burton Albion, returning to the club where he had spent the 2012-13 season on loan.
Aberdeen
On 25 June 2016, O'Connor signed a deal with Aberdeen, subject to International clearance. On 7 July 2016, he made his debut in the second leg of the Europa League First qualifying round tie against Fola Esch. On 4 November 2016, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win away to Partick Thistle.
International career
In 2008, O'Connor was called up by Republic of Ireland U17 squad for the qualifying phase of the UEFA Under 17s Championship. After this, O'Connor had represented Republic of Ireland U19 and Republic of Ireland U21.