‘A big weight off my shoulders’: How an A-League star emerged from the interrupted Melbourne derby
In the space of one very interrupted match, Aiden O’Neill’s career has taken a giant leap.
The 24-year-old scored his first Melbourne City goal in the 11th minute of the clash with Melbourne Victory on December 17, which was halted 21 minutes in after the notorious pitch invasion by Victory fans.
O’Neill was again on the scoresheet on Wednesday night when the game resumed and was completed with City winning 2-1, but during those 110 days, O’Neill has played 14 more games showing himself to be one of the A-League’s best male midfielders and making his Socceroos debut.
Aiden O’Neill, left, of Melbourne City celebrates a goal. Credit:Getty Images
There are also reports heavily linking him to a post-season move to French Ligue 1 club Troyes, led by former City coach Patrick Kisnorbo, although he remains a City player.
“It’s pretty interesting – coming into a game that you have already scored in was a weird feeling,” O’Neill said with a laugh.
“Obviously, I was full of confidence and you could see that when I scored a second goal.”
Socceroos boss Graham Arnold has told all his players, both young and old, they have to find regular game time at senior level and O’Neill has been doing just that in the City midfield.
He has gone from that one goal in December to four so far this season along with producing well-rounded games for the club.
“Football is a funny game and when your confidence is high, sometimes you just hit the ball and it goes into the back of the net,” O’Neill said.
“I think it was a big weight off my shoulders to get the first goal when that came.
“The future ahead of me is looking pretty good.”
But O’Neill has experienced some setbacks in his young career, which started with the privilege of playing minutes as an 18-year-old for English Premier League club Burnley in 2016 before he fell down the pecking order and moved back to the A-League.
He has found his game and remained fit and firing for since moving to City for the 2020-2021 season and started on debut for the Socceroos against Ecuador in Sydney last month.
“Being in the Socceroos camp was a very special moment for me as I missed out on the [Tokyo] Olympics after being involved all the way through,” O’Neill said.
“But that is football sometimes, you don’t always get that chance or get selected. Life is like that as well.
“I’ve just used it as motivation. I’ve been healthy, fit and playing consistent football which I haven’t done since before COVID. I’m really enjoying myself.”
His Socceroos start caught him by surprise, but he more than held his own against Ecuadorian star Moises Caicedo.
“If I’m being honest, I didn’t really expect to be starting but when I found out I was buzzing,” O’Neill said.
“I just tried to think about when I was a kid. Imagine telling a 12-year-old Aiden you would be playing and starting your debut for the Socceroos?
“There is a team photo before the game and you see me, I just had a big grin on my face.
“My family was there for my debut, to get the win just topped it off.”
Just as football is a leveller, City striker Jamie Maclaren was too as O’Neill missed passing to him when he kicked his goal on Wednesday night.
“It happened really quickly, I saw myself in that space and I had a really good first touch, it just opens things up for me,” O’Neill said.
“I saw on the replay, I didn’t realise how open Jamie Maclaren was and he let me know about it.
“I can’t say what he said but in different words, thank god you scored that.”
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