Goalkeeper Conor Hazard helped Plymouth to famous wins over Brentford and Liverpool before they lost to Manchester City and he hopes his exploits with the Pilgrims will boost his Northern Ireland chances
Conor Hazard hopes his starring role in Plymouth’s FA Cup giantkilling run will boost his Northern Ireland chances. Goalkeeper Hazard helped Plymouth stun Brentford and champions-elect Liverpool before their run was ended by Manchester City at the start of this month.
Hazard, who started his career at Celtic, missed the Nations League campaign because of an ankle operation and is back for the friendlies against Switzerland on Friday and Sweden on Tuesday. Hazard, 27, who has five clean sheet from his eight caps, aims to impress boss Michael O’Neill, especially because he has dropped former No 1 Bailey Peacock-Farrell to the standby list.
“At Plymouth, we’re a team that wants to test ourselves against the best teams in the world,” he said. “We were up against three Premier League sides in the FA Cup that are doing really, really well and I think we can feel very proud that we want toe-to-toe with them.
“The wins over Brentford and Liverpool, in particular, will live long in the memory and we gave a good account of ourselves against Man City.
“Like any player, I want to play for my country and win more caps. It was frustrating that I was injured for the first half of the season and I missed the last few international breaks. But at the end of the day, it’s about controlling the controllables and I’m doing what I can for Plymouth and putting in some good performances.
READ MORE: Arsenal star Mikel Merino makes telling admission about Gunners’ feelings on Real MadridREAD MORE: Curtis Jones admits he wasn’t having ‘dig’ at Jurgen Klopp as he clarifies comment
“I’m just looking forward to seeing what happens with Northern Ireland. You want to be playing at international level and we know how important the next few years are for the country. We’ve got the World Cup qualifiers starting in September and I hugely want to be part of that.”
Hazard is battling Sheffield Wednesday’s Pierce Charles for the No 1 shirt and he is much more experienced than the 19-year-old, having made 21 appearances for Plymouth this season as they battle relegation. Charles has made just 11 senior appearances, including Northern Ireland’s last four matches.
The Pilgrims are still bottom of the Championship, despite their upturn under boss Miron Muslic, and Hazard says they need to replicate their cup form in the league.
“Games are running out very quickly now,” he said. “We have a good morale boost from the cup run, from the performances we put in, and we just need to be more consistent.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
