Quote
A single defensive lapse cost UCD a share of the spoils in Flancare Park on Saturday in what was a fairly poor encounter. Former Student Andy Myler scored the only goal, and defeat drops UCD to tenth in the league, four points above Harps. More bizarrely, it keeps up our current record of eight points from five games against the top five and one points from five games against the bottom seven, with a huge game against Shamrock Rovers to come next week.
UCD's line-out showed two changes from the team which lost in Donegal - Anto Murphy was injured and replaced by Paul Byrne, with Pat McWalter moving out to the right wing, while Gary Dicker replaced Stephen Hurley, who was dropped to the bench. Alan Mahon returned to the squad after illness, while Damien Dupuy sported a nice blue hairstyle.
In a fairly poor game, defences were on top for long spells, with neither keeper having to make a save of note. UCD probably shaded the first half, though most of their better openings came courtesy of Longford keeper Stephen O'Brien's frequent ill-advised trips out from his line. However, although College had more of the possession, chances were at a premium. In fact, I can't really remember anything. The game was very stop-start, with the referee seeming very whistle-happy.
Longford came out stronger for the second half with the introduction of Dessie Baker, who caused UCD a few problems down the right wing. However, it was Route One which resulted in the only goal - O'Brien's long kick out was easy for Alan McNally to deal with - he'd dealt with enough all night - but he inexplicable left the ball for Darren Quigley to collect, only to find his keeper back on his six-yard line. Andy Myler nipped in to turn the ball past the advancing Quigley.
After that, Longford seemed content to retreat into a shell and attack on the break. As a result, UCD started to boss possession more but couldn't find the killer pass through the massed Longford defence. As frustrations boiled over, Aidan Lynch was on the receiving end of a very heavy challenge, only for the ref to ignore this and give Longford a free seconds later - Tony McDonnell (I think) was booked for dissent. Pete Mahon made two changes to try and turn things around - Conor Sammon and Stephen Hurley for Aidan Lynch and Damien Dupuy, and later brought on Brian Gannon for Pat McWalter. This saw UCD go to a 3-4-3 formation, with Mick O'Donnell moving to left-wing and Conor Kenna playing as an attacking wing-back (should be a short-lived enough experiment!). UCD's best chance was probably a free-kick which saw the Longford defence advance, leaving four College players in behind the defence - the linesman gave offside (don't think he was correct), though it was academic as Tony McDonnell failed to control the ball anyway. As the game wore on, the College were restricted to knocking the ball forward and trying to make something of a couple of flick-ons, while at the other end, Alan Kirby could have sealed the points only to volley wide from ten yards. At the death, UCD won a free-kick outside the area - Stephen Hurley shot over, and the referee brought the game to a close.
All this means that next week's game is now even more vital. It's now twelve games since UCD's last win away from home in the Premier Division (including seven draws), though our home form is good, with only three Premier defeats in the same period (i.e. since Mahon took over).
UCD - Quigley; Lynch (Hurley 70), O'Donnell, Kenna, McNally; McDonnell, McWalter (Gannon 78), Dicker, Dupuy; Martin, Byrne (Sammon 70). Subs not used - Gallagher, Mahon
Att - c 400
Originally Posted by DE TOWN
Bookmarks