In a week when Pete Mahon talked about taking encouragement from Greece's performances in Euro 2004 (in advance of our Cup tie with Cork), it was ironic that we were undone by a performance of which Greece themselves would be proud. Kildare came, grabbed two goals, and were determined not to let College back into the game for a win which, though effective, was not conducive to the best game ever seen in Belfield Park.
There was a goal before I'd finished selling programmes - usually, that means Wille Soyle has scored, but on this occasion, it was Alan Kelly, stealing in between two defenders to prod home a cross from the right which the UCD defence and keeper had left to each other.
The game ebbed and flowed after that, but took a decisive turn when Kildare raided a second on 32 minutes. There seemed to be little danger as Conor Kenna shepherded a through ball back to Neil Gallagher, but his touch back to the keeper was woefully short, and Martin Reilly ran on to thump home from the edge of the area to leave Kildare in dreamland.
This was Kildare's best period of the match, and shortly afterwards, Gallagher had to be alert to touch a free-kick from 25 yards over the bar when he would have been forgiven for expecting a cross. However, after that, UCD took control of the ball, though not the chances, and while they may consider themselves unlucky not to have pulled one goal back, a win certainly would have been unfair on the Kildare side who, to be fair, held well onto what they had.
UCD had a mild penalty claim in the first half when Pat McWalter tripped over a prone Kildare player in the penalty area - whether there was any intention is doubtful though. McWalter also fell foul of some highly dubious offside calls, although UCD survived a couple of similar calls at the other end.
Into the second half, and it was by and large all UCD, with Kildare attacking on the break, but the College couldn't find a way past the massed Kildare defence. Tony McDonnell could have done better with a header from five yards which Kildare keeper Danny O'Leary parried away - Willie Doyle certainly should have done better with the rebound from three yards which was straight at the keeper.
Later into the game, Pat Sullivan got free in the penalty area and cut the ball back to where Colm Kierans and Tony McDonnell were waiting; however, they left the ball to each other and Kildare were able to clear. There was a further chance for UCD when Willie Dyole appeared to be fouled as he burst through the defence, but the referee, in his alleged wisdom, let play go on. The referee made some particularly bizarre decisions throughout the night, in particular in his application of the advantage rule, when he allowed a few seconds of an advantage to go before deciding on a free-kick (the rule calls for an immediate advantage or none at all). Thus we had the unusual incidence of a UCD foul going unpunished as the ball came to a Kildare defender, but after he hoofed the ball 60 yards up the pitch to no-one in particular, the referee then chose to call play back for the free-kick. Many refereeing decisions are described as controversial - this one was just plain wrong.
In the end, though, O'Leary had a fairly quiet night in the Kildare goal as the Thoroughbreds' defence kept the most fearsome attack in the division at bay, but despite the defeat - College's first in thirteen home league games, during which time they have won eleven and scored 31 goals - UCD remain seven points clear of Kildare in fourth place, the vital cut-off point for promotion. The game also marked Mick O'Donnell's 160th game for College, which takes him into the top 10 in terms of league appearances for UCD. And it also saw the debut of another scholarship player in Darren O'Brien - a famous name around Belfield, as another Darren O'Brien is our second-top league scorer of all time!
UCD - Gallagher; Mahon (Martin 65), Davey, Kenna, McNally; McDonnell, Sullivan, Dicker, O'Donnell (O'Brien); Doyle, McWalter (Kierans)
