Everton: Irish media in agreement on Jake O'Brien after what happened vs Canada
Everton's Jake O'Brien scored an own goal in Republic of Ireland's 1-1 draw against Canada on Saturday, but still earned plaudits for his performance.
The Toffees saw Mark Travers and O'Brien get selected for international duty as Ireland played two international friendlies before going again in September for the UEFA Nations League.
Since Seamus Coleman's departure, the Blues have only two Irish internationals, as all three started in the draw against Canada.
O'Brien netted an own goal in the 23rd minute before Chiedozie Ogbene levelled things up on the hour mark.
Despite striking into his own net, the Irish media were left impressed with O'Brien's performance, as his nation could have picked up the win if it weren't for one moment of misfortune.
Irish media label Jake O'Brien as 'unfortunate' vs Canada
O'Brien has played the majority of his football at right-back since arriving at Everton, but played in his natural position in the heart of defence against Canada.
The defender made 11 defensive contributions and had a passing accuracy of 78 per cent, showing his resilience to bounce back from a moment of horror.
Irish media outlet, balls.ie, gave the 25-year-old a 6/10 rating and said: "He was unfortunate to see the ball ricochet off him and into the back of the net.
"Other than the goal, he was assured defensively, making some key clearances and blocks to deny some Canadians from scoring."
The Irish Mirror seemed to agree with this take on the Everton star, in a report that said: "The Canadians broke the deadlock midway through the opening period when a corner deflected off [Troy] Parrott before finding its way into the Irish goal courtesy of an unfortunate touch from O'Brien.
"O'Brien atoned with a crucial intervention to thwart Liam Millar."
The general consensus was that O'Brien had a good game, and interestingly, he even won the Man of the Match award.
Is that a first for somebody scoring an own goal and winning the Player of the Match award?
O'Brien has chance to flourish with Everton change next season
Everton's key priority in the summer window is to sign a new right-back, a position where O'Brien has filled the past season and more.
The Toffees are keen on signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka from West Ham for a fee worth £10million, which would then cover the right side of defence, if the deal goes through.
Regardless, any right-back signing would then allow O'Brien a chance to impress in his natural position of centre-back.
That's even more of a possibility when you consider Michael Keane's poor form to end the season, and Jarrad Branthwaite's ongoing injury issues.
Perhaps Evertonians will finally see the O'Brien they were promised when signing him from Lyon, as this Ireland performance will not define him at Hill Dickinson.