Gillingham loanee Tom O’Connor made a late substitute appearance for Republic of Ireland’s under-21 side on Sunday.

Ireland suffered a 2-1 defeat to Iceland in what is a major blow to their European under-21 Championship qualification hopes.

The Irish, who were beaten in stoppage-time, will now hope to bounce back when they face Luxembourg on Wednesday, but qualification is now unlikely. Iceland are in pole position to claim the runner-up place in the group, ahead of Jim Crawford’s team.

O’Connor was named in the same squad as Lincoln City pair Anthony Scully and Zack Elbouzedi, two of the three international call-ups for the Imps which meant Saturday’s game against the Gills was postponed.

The Southampton player, on loan at the Gills for the season, came on as an 83rd minute substitute. It was 1-1 at the time but a 93rd minute goal from Valdimar Ingimundarson saw Iceland claim the points to leapfrog Crawford’s side in the table.

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