PAUDIE O’CONNOR’S “BRAVERY” was hailed by his Bradford City boss after scoring a late winner in League Two despite having a tooth knocked out earlier in the game.
The Limerick man headed home in the 85th minute, steering his side to a 2-1 win over Salford City and helping secure a first victory at Valley Parade since October.
Brandon Thomas-Asante had put the visitors 1-0 up in the 35th minute, but was sent off shortly after for elbowing O’Connor in the face.
After dusting himself off and cleaning up the blood, the 24-year-old Irish centre-half played on and followed up an own goal to seal Bradford’s first home league win in seven games.
“Paudie showed his bravery at the end to get that header,” manager Derek Adams said afterwards, as quoted by the Telegraph & Argus. “He’s lost a tooth and has had to go to get some dental surgery.
REACTION: O'Connor's bravery impresses Adams as #bcafc back to winning ways at home ...@Bradford_TandA https://t.co/CWb6Cec9lf
— Simon Parker (@ParkerTandA) January 15, 2022
“It was a red card. The amount of blood that came from him after losing a tooth proved that.
“But I thought it was a really good performance.
“We started the game very well and dominated the first half. I thought we were unlucky to go a goal down.
“Niall Canavan [the former Ireland U21 international] slips and they get a 1-0 lead out of nothing.
“But over the piece, we got what we deserved. It was only a matter of time before we scored.”
CANTENLO, GRITENLO, ABRACENSE. GOLAZO. PAUDIE O'CONNOR, EL MEJOR IRLANDES VIVO. GOLAZO. #BCAFC 🐓❤ pic.twitter.com/ppYU0fV590
— Bradford City Latam (@BCAFC_Latam) January 15, 2022
