The 23-year-old was one of five Irish imports brought into the Southern United set-up and is set to play his fourth league game, against Auckland City, in Invercargill this weekend. O’Keeffe offers versatility and is capable of playing as a defender and in the midfield. He is also the new football development manager for Football South.
"I’m really enjoying Dunedin. It’s a really busy city and lots of people, so there’s a lot going on. We’ve settled in well in the house. The five of us are living together, so everything’s been good," he said.
O’Keeffe had spent much of his time in South Canterbury, along with fellow Irish defender Stephen Last. The two had been coaching in schools and running club development sessions in the region. He was enjoying playing for Southern, which picked up its first points with a 2-2 draw against Waitakere United last weekend, and was positive about the league’s quality.
"The league is very good, very strong. Every game is going to be tough for us. We’re going to have to work very hard to get three points, or even a point. But the standard is very high compared to back home. Obviously at home Dundalk are doing very well, in Europe as well, but I think Auckland would be very close."
Originally from Mullingar, a small town in the Irish midlands, O’Keeffe played for Drogheba United and Wexford Youths in Ireland. Alongside that he represented IT Carlow and the Irish team which finished fifth at the World University Games. After graduating from IT Carlow with an honours degree in sports management and coaching, he coached at the college, first as an intern and then as an assistant last season. Southern United coach Paul O’Reilly had previously been its manager and was key in getting the players to New Zealand.
"The word started a good while back. As the year went on we got a better and better idea of what we’d be doing over here and it just seemed to be a too good an opportunity to turn down."
He said the side was working hard and had its two best training sessions of the season this week. It would take a big effort to beat Auckland City, traditionally one of the league’s top teams.
"It’s going to be a tough game. We have to go into it with the right approach. It’s just another game of football. We have to set ourselves up right, work hard throughout the game and go in with the mindset that we can take something from the game."
Southern United v Auckland City
Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill, Sunday, 2pm
Southern United: Liam Little, Conor O’Keeffe, Craig Ferguson, Stephen Last, Danny Ledwith, Michael Hogan, Harley Rodeka, Ben O’Farrell, Andy Mulligan, Sam Cosgrave, Ross Howard, Andrew Ridden, Cam Higgins, Tennessee Kinghorn, Cam McPhail, Chris Kessell.
Auckland City (from): Angel Berlanga, Nicolai Berry, Mario Bilen, Ryan de Vries, Marko Dordevic, Danyon Drake, Reid Drake, Harry Edge, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Takuya Iwata, Yousif Ali Al-Khalisy, Daewook Kim, Micah Lea’alafa, Clayton Lewis, Joao Moreira, Albert Riera, Alfie Rogers, Jacob Spoonley, Emiliano Tade, Fabrizio Tavano, Darren White, Enaut Zubikarai.
