Celtic youngster Lee O’Connor suffered some international heartbreak tonight as he was sent off against Iceland under-21s.
The Republic of Ireland under-21s fell to a poor 1-0 defeat in Iceland in their Euro 2021 qualification match. O’Connor started the contest for Ireland before seeing a late red card for two bookable offences.
O’Connor was effectively sent walking for a challenge on Jon Dagur Porsteinsson. That was his second yellow on 89 minutes, and it was enough to send him up the tunnel. He had previously been booked for handball after giving away the first-half penalty that Iceland scored (Independent).
The penalty came on 29 minutes. Sveinn Aron Gudjohnsen slotted home the spot-kick to consign Stephen Kenny to his first defeat in Euro 2021 qualifying
However, it’s not a disaster either. Ireland won their first three games of the campaign against Luxembourg, Armenia and Sweden respectively. A 0-0 draw at home to Italy on Thursday was a fine result too. It leaves Ireland sitting top of the group but just one point clear of Iceland. Iceland also have a game in-hand.
O’Connor could need some consoling after a tough night
There’s no denying it’s been a rough night for the Celtic youngster. He’s effectively cost his team the game by giving away the penalty and then picking up the two bookings.
However, he has played in all five of Ireland’s qualifying matches so far. He also played a huge part in keeping three clean sheets out of the previous four qualification matches before tonight. He’s certainly done his bit in trying to help his nation qualify.
He’ll now come back to Lennoxtown and look to continue trying to catch the eye of Neil Lennon. It’s a blow for O’Connor tonight, but nothing more. He’ll have more devastating moments than this throughout his career.
It’s also a big test of his character to see how he responds from this. Celtic will want to see a reaction when he comes back to Scotland, and chances are they’ll get it.
O’Connor wasn’t the only poor performer for the Republic tonight. Unfortunately, it was just his key errors that stand out on a bad night all-round for Ireland.
O’Connor will move on, but it’s how quickly he picks himself up that will be worth watching.
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