Leeds United endured a disappointing afternoon as they could only draw with the Championship strugglers.
The Whites went into the clash off the back of a disappointing midweek defeat to Fulham, and they would have been hopeful that they would pick up just the third win of Paul Heckingbottom’s tenure with Sunderland cut well adrift towards the bottom of the table.
However, they had to settle for an underwhelming point as the visitors took the lead just after the break thanks to a thunderous strike from Paddy McNair which left the hugely impressive Bailey Peacock-Farrell with no chance between the sticks.
The Whites would find an equaliser with just under 20 minutes to go as Pablo Hernandez curled an effort into the bottom corner. But rather than find a winner, Leeds would end the game with 10 men after a shocking lunge from Gaetano Berardi.
The result may not prove to be one that will live long in the memory for most, but it was a significant day for O’Connor, who was making his first-team bow for the club in the wake of the injuries to Liam Cooper and Matthew Pennington.
O’Connor performed well alongside Pontus Jansson and arguably provided a hint that he could be set to become the latest academy starlet to stake a serious claim to Heckingbottom for a regular chance in the senior side.
And after the game, Whelan suggested that the 20-year-old should be delighted with the impact that he made during the fixture as the opportunity did not seem to faze him at all.
“A positive. It’s nice to see the young players coming through the academy. And what a fantastic debut. It’s nice to see a little bit more of what we’ve got in the academy, and he accepted the challenge. He stood up to it, and I thought he had a really, really good debut. He should be really proud of himself,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
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