Despite an early blip, UCD easily overcame the challenge of Kilkenny City to move back to the top of the First Division by a goal from nearest rivals Bray Wanderers, who travel to Belfield Park next week, a venue at which UCD have won their last eight league games.
After a quiet opening to the game, Kilkenny went ahead midway through the first half when some slack marking allowed Damien Raggett dance into the penalty area, and he drove home from 10 yards to put College behind at home for the first time this season.
That lead lasted all of two minutes as Willie Doyle scored another of his traditional straight-from-kick-off goals. Granted, his previous efforts have been from the start of the game, not from the away team going ahead, but he was still on hand to prod home after Cats keeper Tadhg Murphy couldn't hold onto a cross.
Those two goals failed to liven up the game, though, and as it went on towards half-time, it looked like the teams were going to go in level. But then Pat McWalter got free on the left and put over a cross which Tony McDonnell, free at the back post, headed home. And straight from tip-off, Kilkenny worked the ball back to their keeper only for Doyle to nip in and stick out a leg to divert the ball past Murphy into the net from the edge of the area.
UCD came out with more conviction after the brek and created a number of good chances, with Pat McWalter putting in another good performance on the wing. Seán Finn blazed wide from distance, McWalter was just too late to apply the finishing touch to a shot across goal and Alan McNally drove just over from 25 yards after a well-worked set-piece. And the goal College were threatening came with 20 minutes to go, when Willie Doyle got in behind the defence and, though his first touch wasn't the best, he still had enough room to poke past Murphy to complete his hat-trick, the first by a UCD player since Seán Finn against Drogheda two years ago. The hat-trick bring Doyle's UCD stats to an impressive eight goals in nine game since arriving from Bohs in the pre-season. Kilkenny did have the ball in the net in the last minute, but even that consolation was ruled out for offside.
Overall, a comfortable enough win in a game where we were never really tested. Our 2004 home record of five wins from five is against the teams with the five worst away records in the league; however, three of our next four home games are against promotion rivals in Bray, Harps and Kildare. It will be interesting to see if we can raise our game to a consistent level to fend these teams off rather than playing when we need to as we have been doing. But if we are going to beat these teams, it appears we'll be doing it without Rob McAuley, who has been supplanted by Conor Kenna in the centre of defence for the last two league games.
