Ireland U21 side delivered another classy performance on Thursday night as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a very strong Italian side at Tallaght Stadium.

Neither team could quite gain the upper-hand throughout the game, which became somewhat of a battle and saw two of the Premier League’s rising stars in Moise Kean and Troy Parrott sent off for their involvement in a scuffle.

One man who had his work-cut out for him throughout the wet and windy Tallaght tussle was Celtic right-back Lee O’Connor.

O’Connor has been one of Stephen Kenny’s most consistent performers and up against the £22 million Juventus left-back Luca Pellegrini, he and Zac Elbouzedi put in a tremendous defensive shift on the right hand side to keep the Serie A star at bay.

“It’s a good experience. Obviously, he’s come down from the senior team,” said O’Connor of Pellegrini.

“So he did pose a threat. But I think we dealt with it rather well.

“They kind of overloaded the left side. The left-back played more like a left winger. We knew that coming into the game, so we just prepared for it.

“I probably didn’t get forward as much as I would have liked to, but you have to have games where you sit back and defend — the clean sheet was the most important thing in the end.”

Ireland’s most capped underage international, O’Connor wasn’t able to raid the right-hand side as frequently as he would have liked, and he outlined that his side felt disappointed not to have come away with the victory in the end.

“I think it was a good performance. We probably had the better chances in the game. We’re kind of disappointed not to come away with three points in the end.

The 19-year-old’s emergence as one of Ireland’s key players at both U21 and U19 level (as he showed during the summer) has coincided with his move to Scottish champions Celtic.

O’Connor admitted that he is still settling in at his new club following his departure from Manchester United and outlined that his goal is to get a run of games together at underage or reserve level so that he can show senior manager Neil Lennon what he is capable of.

“I’ve been enjoying it. I’m just settling in at the moment, I’m just looking forward to playing my football and showing them what I can do.”

“At the moment, I’m just looking to get a run of games [at underage level] and show them why they’ve got me there. Hopefully, the coaching staff will see and next season in pre-season, I can show the first-team manager that I’m capable enough to make the step.

“They put great faith in me. I’m very grateful for that, so I’m just looking to repay their faith now, get a good run of games and have a good performance level

“You want to get into the first team. That’s why I went to Celtic — it’s what I’m looking to do and hopefully I can do it.”

O’Connor has all the tools to succeed in the Hoops’ first team in years to come but his decision to leave United – who he spent three and a half years with – was admittedly a difficult one.

He explained however that he felt it would be the best move for his footballing career but still took the time to thank everyone who helped him along the way at Old Trafford.

“Obviously, I went as a 15-year-old kid. It was like a second home to me. I’d become very close to everyone. The people I lived with, the players, everyone at the club.

“It was a tough decision to leave, but at the end of the day, it has to be purely about football and what’s best for my career and I think I made the right decision.

“I had an amazing three-and-a-bit seasons at United. I couldn’t speak highly enough about the club, the people at it, the players, everyone. But I think it was time for me to move on and everyone at the club understood that.”

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