IN NOVEMBER 2019, a Stephen Kenny-managed Ireland U21 side earned a hard-fought 1-0 win away to Armenia, in the process consolidating top spot in their qualifying group.
Four players made their full debuts for the Boys in Green that day.
Of that quartet, two — Nathan Collins and Gavin Bazunu — completed 90 minutes in the Premier League last weekend. One, Danny McNamara, started for promotion-chasing Millwall, as they earned an important 1-0 win over Championship rivals Cardiff. And the final individual in question, Thomas O’Connor, featured in the less high-profile surroundings of Maidstone United, in front of 3,341 fans, as his Wrexham team earned a dramatic late 3-2 win to continue their promotion push in the National League.
The contrasting fates of the aforementioned former U21 stars serve as a reminder of the fine line between stardom and relative footballing obscurity.
Yet O’Connor is not as far removed from the glitz and glamour as you might initially suspect.
His club, Wrexham, have attracted countless headlines in recent times. Since November 2020, they have been co-owned by two Hollywood stars, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The pair’s eyebrow-raising move led to considerable publicity for the Welsh side and also a documentary series, ‘Welcome to Wrexham,’ which is currently available to stream on Disney Plus.
“I have, yeah,” O’Connor tells The42 when asked if he has watched the show. “I think it comes across well, to be fair. It’s a fairly accurate representation of what the club is like, how the fans are and how the city is. Yeah, it’s good.”
The young Irishman also says he is a fan of Messrs Reynolds and McElhenney’s better-known work.
“I’ve seen ‘Deadpool,’ I like ‘Deadpool.’ I’ve only recently watched a few episodes of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ just to see what it’s like and I think it’s good as well, it’s a nice, easy watch.”
He admits to not really knowing his famous owners on a personal level, though says that their ambition is part of what attracted him to the club in the first place.
“They’ve been over a few times, and I’ve met them, but I wouldn’t be in contact with them much. They seem like sound lads and very interested in what’s going on, which is good.”
There was, of course, initial skepticism in certain quarters with regard to the acting duo’s intentions and well-documented Premier League aspirations amid speculation that it was merely a publicity stunt.
But whatever Reynolds and McElhenney are doing appears to be working relatively well so far.
Per the BBC, 8,000 jerseys have been sold since last summer, many of which have been sent to addresses in Canada and the US.
Wrexham may be in their 15th consecutive season playing in English football’s fifth tier, but last season, they came desperately close to promotion. Their second-place finish would have seen them go up in most divisions, but in the National League, it was only enough for a playoff spot, and they ultimately suffered a chaotic 5-4 extra-time defeat in the semi-finals at the hands of Grimsby Town.
Nonetheless, the hangover from that frustrating near-miss was evidently not long-lasting. As it stands, they currently sit top of the table with 27 games played, three points ahead of promotion rivals Notts County.
O’Connor has played a significant role in this impressive start to the campaign, appearing 19 times in all competitions thus far.
He has also found the net on five occasions, and there is no question which of those goals was the most memorable.
The midfielder was on target earlier this month as Wrexham pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the FA Cup third round.
The 23-year-old’s well-placed header put his side 3-1 up against Coventry in first-half stoppage time.
The eventual thrilling 4-3 victory against a side three divisions above them saw Wrexham reach the competition’s fourth round for the first time since 2000. Safe to say, it was the stuff of Hollywood dreams.
“It’s probably the best away day I’ve had so far anyway,” says O’Connor.
“No one gave us much of a chance going there, but we put in a good showing and probably deserved the win over the 90 minutes. The away following was unreal, to be fair.
“There’s a lot of hype around the club at the minute, there’s the documentary series, so it’ll do no harm anyway, probably a good episode for the next one.”
Going into this weekend, Wrexham are the only non-league team left in the FA Cup.
Winning at home against Sheffield United — a side who look likely to be playing Premier League football next year as they sit second in the Championship, 13 points ahead of third-place Watford — would be an even bigger coup than the Coventry upset.
Unlike former teammates Collins and Bazunu, O’Connor’s games are not seen on TV regularly by a large audience, but this weekend will be an exception, with Sunday’s match live on BBC One (kick-off: 4.30pm).
“I think they’ll be even a step up from Coventry, they’re flying,” he says. “So we’ll probably be even more underdogs, but sure, you never know in the cup. We have a decent home record this season as well, so hopefully, we can cause another upset.”
O’Connor is likely to be one of several Irish players on display. Fellow former U21 international Liam McAlinden and Limerick native Anthony Forde are also part of Wrexham’s squad, while John Egan, Enda Stevens and Ciaran Clark are currently on the Blades’ books.
The game will be a reunion of sorts for Egan and Forde, who were both part of the Irish U19s side that memorably made it to the semi-finals of the European Championships in 2011.
“I know he’d be good friends with him, so they’ve been in contact about the draw,” adds O’Connor.
It will be quite possibly the biggest game O’Connor has ever been involved in and it has seemingly come at the ideal time.
“I had a few injuries towards the end of last year, so I didn’t really get going, which was a bit frustrating.
“And then again, at the start of this year, I had one, and it’s only been the last month or two I feel that I’ve got into a bit of a rhythm. So it’s starting to look a bit better now alright on a personal note.”
Growing up on the Kilkenny-Wexford border, it could have been a very different story had O’Connor opted to pursue his other sporting passion — hurling.
He lined out for Tullogher-Rosbercon as a youngster and remains a dedicated follower of GAA from across the water, taking a keen interest in the recent club All-Ireland action.
“I’d say I liked them both equally, growing up, but I suppose when you get the chance to go over to a Premier League club when you’re 15 or 16, it’s hard to turn down. Just getting that opportunity made the decision a bit easier.”
O’Connor spent six years at Southampton without making a first-team breakthrough, though appeared over 60 times with Gillingham on loan over the course of two seasons in League One.
“Obviously, looking back, it’s fairly young to be going over but I didn’t really feel like that at the time. You just get on with it.
“You’re obviously playing with some of the top youngsters and best coaches around so it was a good experience. I don’t regret my decision or anything like that.
“I never actually played for the first team [at Southampton] but I trained with them while I was there. They obviously had some good players over the years, Virgil van Dijk would be the biggest name. He was a level above even when he was there.
“Everything just seemed so easy for him. It felt like he was at 50 or 60%, he was in cruise control all the time, and never really made any mistakes. So it was fairly impressive.”
After his Saints contract expired in the summer of 2021, O’Connor signed a two-year deal with another League One side, Burton Albion.
Although he made a creditable 18 appearances, the move would prove short-lived and he joined Wrexham the following January, meaning the player had dropped four divisions within the space of six months.
“It was a big enough call,” he says of his latest move. “To be fair, I didn’t have much time to think about it, it was only a day or two left in the transfer window, but if we can get promoted, it will definitely be justified.
“I had 18 months left at Burton — I don’t think there was any other interest [from other clubs]. Wrexham were looking for a midfielder so they came in at the very end of the window and it just happened fairly quickly.”
Consequently, O’Connor’s current status as a non-league footballer means a reunion with old boss Kenny seems unlikely at present, however a strong performance in front of the TV cameras against high-calibre opposition tomorrow certainly won’t hurt his cause and the youngster remains optimistic he can return to the top level someday.
“I haven’t given up on it. I’m 23 at the minute, so hopefully, there are plenty of years ahead. And that’s the aim, I suppose. Obviously, it’s not ideal being in the fifth tier, but
it’s happened before, lads going from non-league up the leagues, so I haven’t ruled that out.”
