Aaron O'Connor
![]() O'Connor in October 2020 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Aaron Derek O'Connor[1] | ||
Date of birth | 9 August 1983 | ||
Place of birth | Nottingham, England | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Tamworth | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2002 | Ilkeston Town | ||
2002–2003 | Scunthorpe United | 3 | (0) |
2003 | Nuneaton Borough | ||
2003–2004 | Ilkeston Town | ||
2004–2007 | Gresley Rovers | 99 | (73) |
2007–2008 | Grays Athletic | 63 | (8) |
2008–2009 | Mansfield Town | 39 | (8) |
2009–2011 | Rushden & Diamonds | 75 | (24) |
2011–2012 | Luton Town | 34 | (5) |
2012–2015 | Newport County | 82 | (29) |
2015–2016 | Forest Green Rovers | 20 | (9) |
2016 | → Stevenage (loan) | 3 | (0) |
2016 | Stevenage | 10 | (1) |
2016–2020 | Kettering Town | 116 | (59) |
2020– | Tamworth | 4 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:00 11 November 2020 (UTC) (Also works for a school) |
Aaron Derek O'Connor (born 9 August 1983) is an English footballer who currently plays for National League side Tamworth, where he plays as a forward.jfj
Playing career
Scunthorpe United
Born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, O'Connor started his career at Ilkeston Town before moving to Third Division side Scunthorpe United on 12 December 2002. However, O'Connor featured in just three games as a substitute. Manager Brian Laws released the 19-year-old in February 2003, claiming he did not have the right attitude for the professional club.[2]
Nuneaton Borough and Ilkeston Town
O'Connor had a brief spell at Nuneaton Borough at the start of the 2003–04 season, before moving back to Ilkeston Town.
Gresley Rovers
He then moved onto Gresley Rovers in July 2004.[3] He spent two and a half seasons at Gresley, winning the Player's Player of The Year, Manager's Player of The Year and Supporter's Player of The Year awards in both seasons. O'Connor had a very impressive record of scoring 80 goals in 127 appearances for the club in all competitions.[4] He had a two-week trial with Rushden & Diamonds in June 2006.[5]
Grays Athletic
Grays Athletic announced the signing of O'Connor on 5 January 2007,[6] and he made his debut the following day against Southport in the Conference National. Despite being offered a new contract for the 2008–09 season, he did not sign and subsequently was released.[7]
Mansfield Town
He was signed by Mansfield Town on 8 August 2008,[8] where he made 39 appearances in the Conference Premier, scoring eight goals. He was released at the end of the 2008–09 season.[9]
Rushden & Diamonds
On 17 June 2009, O'Connor signed for Rushden & Diamonds on a one-year contract.[10] He signed a one-year contract extension in May 2010.[11] Over the course of two seasons, in which he was appointed Rushden's club captain, O'Connor scored 27 goals in 78 games.
Luton Town
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Aaron_O%27Connor_24-09-11_1.png/170px-Aaron_O%27Connor_24-09-11_1.png)
O'Connor left Rushden & Diamonds and joined Luton Town on a free transfer on 6 June 2011.[12]
Newport County
In July 2012, O'Connor was reunited with former Rushden & Diamonds manager Justin Edinburgh when he signed for Newport County.[13] In August 2012 O'Connor was selected as Conference Player of the Month after Newport County won all five of their opening matches of the 2012–13 season with O'Connor scoring six goals.[14] He was part of the Newport team that finished third in the league, reaching the Conference Premier play-offs. Newport won the 2013 Conference Premier play-off Final versus Wrexham at Wembley Stadium 2–0 to return to the Football League after a 25-year absence with promotion to League Two. O'Connor scored the second goal.[15] He was released by Newport in May 2015 at the end of his contract.[16]
Forest Green Rovers
On 12 June 2015, he joined National League club Forest Green Rovers on a one-year deal.[17] He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2015-16 season in a 1–0 away win against Altrincham.[18] His first goal followed in his second appearance, as his first half strike against Welling United at The New Lawn proved to be enough to secure a 1–0 victory.[19]
Stevenage
He joined League Two side Stevenage on a one-month loan on 15 January 2016.[20] He made his Stevenage debut the following day on 16 January 2016, playing 81 minutes in a 3–2 away loss against Plymouth Argyle.[21] On 1 February 2016, he secured a permanent move to Stevenage after he had his contract cancelled by Forest Green by mutual consent.[22] He was released by Stevenage in May 2016.[23]
Kettering Town
O'Connor joined Kettering Town on 3 September 2016,[24] and was voted the Fans' and Overall Player of the Year for the season 2017–18.[25]
Tamworth
It was confirmed on 15 July 2020, that Aaron had signed for Southern League Premier Division Central side Tamworth.[26] O'Connor made his debut for Tamworth on 29 September 2020 in a 2–1 home victory over Barwell, coming on as a 78th minute substitute for Gerry McDonagh.[27]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 11 November 2020
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Ilkeston Town | 2001–02 | Southern Football League Premier Division | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
2002–03 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Scunthorpe United | 2002–03[28] | Third Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Nuneaton Borough | 2003–04 | Southern Football League Premier Division | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
Ilkeston Town | Southern Football League Western Division | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
Gresley Rovers | 2004–05 | Northern Premier League Division One | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
2005–06 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
2006–07 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
Grays Athletic | 2006–07 | Football Conference | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | |
2007–08 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 46 | 4 | |||
Grays Athletic | 61 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 8 | ||
Mansfield Town | 2008–09 | Conference National | 29 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 8 | |
Rushden & Diamonds | 2009–10 | 38 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 38 | 10 | ||
2010–11 | 36 | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 36 | 14 | |||
Rushden & Diamonds | 74 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 28 | ||
Luton Town | 2011–12 | Conference National | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 34 | 5 | |
Newport County | 2012–13 | 39 | 18 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 39 | 18 | ||
2013–14 | League Two | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
2014–15 | 39 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 10 | ||
Newport County | 82 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 29 | ||
Forest Green Rovers | 2015–16 | Conference National | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 20 | 9 | |
Stevenage (loan) | 2015–16 | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Stevenage | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
Kettering Town | 2016–17[29] | Southern League Premier Division | 31 | 15 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 34 | 15 | |
2017–18[29] | 41 | 32 | 4 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 45 | 35 | |||
2018–19[29] | Southern League Premier Division Central | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 10 | ||
2019–20 | National League North | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | ||
Kettering Town | 116 | 59 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 124 | 62 | ||
Tamworth | 2020–21 | Southern League Premier Division Central | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Career total | 436 | 149 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 447 | 150 |
Honours
Club
Kettering Town
- Northamptonshire Cup: 2017–18;[30]
- Northamptonshire Senior Cup: 2017–18[31]
- Southern League Premier Division Central: 2018–19
References
- ^ "The Football League Retained List". The Football League. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ^ "Laws advice for O'Connor". BBC Sport. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
- ^ "Rovers get their man". Non-League Daily. 15 July 2004. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
- ^ "Player Database - Aaron O'Connor". Gresley Rovers. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
- ^ "Hart will look at Gresley striker". BBC Sport. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
- ^ "Grays complete deal for O'Connor". BBC Sport. 5 January 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
- ^ "Player News". Grays Athletic F.C. 3 July 2007. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009.
- ^ "Diamonds tie up O'Connor signing". BBC Sport. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ "Aaron O'Connor agrees deal at Rushden & Diamonds". BBC Sport. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ "Luton Town swoop for striker Aaron O'Connor". BBC Sport. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ O'Connor joins Newport
- ^ Conference Player of the Month
- ^ Hughes, Dewi (5 May 2013). "Wrexham 0–2 Newport". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ Newport players released
- ^ "Forest Green sign former Newport County striker". BBC Sport. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Altrincham 0-1 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 8 August 2015.
- ^ "Forest Green 1-0 Welling United". BBC Sport. 11 August 2015.
- ^ "Aaron O'Connor: Forest Green Rovers striker joins Stevenage". BBC Sport. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Plymouth Argyle 3-2 Stevenage". BBC Sport. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Stevenage bring in Aaron O'Connor, Pat Hoban and Ryan Hedges". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ O'Connor released by Stevenage
- ^ Kettering Town F.C. Player Profile
- ^ Kettering Town F.C. 2017-18 Presentation - Winners
- ^ "Experienced Striker Signs On". TheLambs.co.uk. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ "Tamworth 2-1 Barwell". TheLambs.co.uk. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Aaron O'Connor in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ a b c "Player profiles: Aaron O'Connor". Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ "Match report – Northampton Town". Kettering Town F.C. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Match report – Brackley Town". Kettering Town F.C. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Aaron O'Connor at Soccerbase
- Aaron O'Connor at Soccerbase
- Aaron O'Connor at Soccerway
- Use dmy dates from July 2013
- 1983 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Nottingham
- English footballers
- Association football forwards
- Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players
- Scunthorpe United F.C. players
- Nuneaton Borough F.C. players
- Gresley F.C. players
- Grays Athletic F.C. players
- Mansfield Town F.C. players
- Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players
- Luton Town F.C. players
- Newport County A.F.C. players
- Forest Green Rovers F.C. players
- Stevenage F.C. players
- Kettering Town F.C. players
- Tamworth F.C. players
- English Football League players
- National League (English football) players