Charlton Athletic U23s defender Harris O’Connor spoke to Valley Gold for Academy Notes after the recent 6-2 defeat at Peterborough United.
The 19-year-old who plays at centre or right back was originally at Charlton from the age of 7-13 until his family moved to Scotland, but has since returned to South London at the end of 2021, and has quickly settled in thanks to the great atmosphere around the Academy, and says he is a good athlete, comfortable on the ball, aggressive in the tackle and a good reader of the game. Speaking after the heavy defeat in Cambridgeshire, he told Valley Gold:
“I was pleased to be playing in such a big game after overcoming a tough group in the Premier League Cup, and it was a big occasion for us as players to be playing at a stadium with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
“We started the game brightly, with intent, pressing high up the pitch and forcing errors from the opposition. This led to us taking the lead early on as we won the ball high in the opposition’s half, allowing Jason Adigun to play a superb ball into the box for Daniel Kanu to head home.
“However, the brilliant start from the team was soon diminished as just 40 seconds, from the restart, we found ourselves level. For the remainder of the half, we continued to push for openings and created good chances. But despite our good work, Peterborough were sprightly on the counter-attack as well as being clinical in finishing, and we went into the halftime break 3-1 down.
“The mood in the dressing room was one of disappointment for the goals we had conceded, but also positivity, knowing that we were more than capable of a comeback in the second half.
“After half-time, we showed great desire and personality in my opinion. We scored a great team goal to bring the game back to 3-2 and the momentum was with us. Unfortunately, around the 60th minute, a debatable red card was shown to Naz Bakrin.
“Despite being down to ten men we continued to pursue a comeback and created more chances and worked extremely hard for our teammates. Sadly, our momentum was lost as Peterborough scored a fourth from another counterattack.
“Having worked tirelessly for the 90 minutes the game ended 6-2 to Peterborough United. A scoreline that in my opinion flattered our opponents. The feeling in the dressing room after the game was of huge displeasure with the goals we had conceded, yet an element of pride knowing we had given it our all.
“We can learn from this match and with games coming thick and fast through March we have the chance to bounce back and gain some momentum again.”
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