2021 Season Preview: UCD

Manager: Andy Myler.

Stadium: UCD Bowl.

Players in: Sam Todd (Finn Harps), Donal Higgins (Galway United), Adam Lennon (Athlone Town), Sean Brennan (Southampton).

Players out: Yoyo Mahdy (Shelbourne), Josh Collins (Waterford).

Extratime.ie Key Man: Jack Keaney

UCD midfielder Jack Keaney will be looking to lean on his experience from seasons past as the Students eye another promotion tilt.

The former Sligo Rovers star joined UCD midway through the 2019 season – and has gone from strength to strength during his time at Belfield.

Keaney has asserted himself as one of the leaders in Andy Myler’s young squad since his arrival – and he will be looking to build on that again this year for UCD.

He has often played in defence for the Students in pre-season so perhaps that may be a sign of things to come, but either way he will be a key component in whatever success UCD have this year.

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Adam Lennon

Joining UCD from Athlone Town, Adam Lennon joins the Students with plenty of first-team experience to his name already.

Lennon has been a highly-rated prospect ever since making his league debut for Athlone in August 2019 – and his pre-season performances for the Students suggest he will have a great impact at UCD this year.

Lennon is a winger by trade and will add plenty of depth to the UCD frontline along with fellow new recruit Donal Higgins.

As mentioned, the Roscommon native has shown glimpses of his obvious talent so far in pre-season – and he will only continue to improve as his time at College progresses.

How they did last season:

First Division

There was playoff heartbreak for UCD last season, but they can be proud of their 2020 efforts with a revamped squad.

Manager Andy Myler promoted several young guns to his starting side, Evan Weir, Lorcan Healy and Colm Whelan to name a few.

Results on the whole were good for UCD, with their attacking intent being duly rewarded with a plethora of goals going in their favour.

They would eventually score an incredible 44 league goals, with 29 of them coming from striking duo Yoyo Mahdy and Whelan – with Mahdy departing for Shelbourne in the off-season.

The Students had to wait until the final day to secure their spot in the First Division playoffs, but it was more or less confirmed as they defeated local rivals Cabinteely 5-1 at home.

Myler’s side did concede 29 goals in their league season however – and that would prove to be their detriment.

Silly goals put pay to their title ambitions – and it was those concessions that also ended their playoff dream.

A promotion-playoff defeat was no disgrace at all for UCD, but they will certainly be left pondering what might have been.

FAI Cup

UCD were defeated in their FAI Cup opener at home to Sligo Rovers despite taking an early lead.

However, cup success was never really a demand at the UCD Bowl – so their 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Bit O’Red was not exactly a bitter pill to swallow (pardon the pun…).

What to expect this season:

In terms of what to expect at the UCD Bowl season, think goals, goals and more goals.

UCD have one of the most potent striking forces in the League of Ireland, never mind the First Division so it would not be a shock to see the Students score a load of goals again this term.

While the loss of Yoyo Mahdy will be a blow, but they have an able replacement in the name of Colm Whelan.

Whelan was not too far off Mahdy’s tally of 16 last year – he had 15 – and Andy Myler’s side have also brought in Donal Higgins and Adam Lennon to fill the void left by Mahdy.

The Students also lost the highly experienced Josh Collins – but he too has been replaced with an able body in Sam Todd who joins from Finn Harps.

Sean Brennan – who joins from Premier League Southampton – will also be a shrewd addition to a squad bursting with talent and potential.

And they have also retained Paul Doyle, Liam Kerrigan and Jack Keaney from last season – something that will be a massive boost ahead of the new season.

Full-backs Michael Gallagher and Evan Weir will also be ones to keep an eye out for after strong 2020 campaigns at the UCD Bowl – as will Lorcan Healy who has asserted himself as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.

In terms of looking for improvements on last season, UCD will be looking to learn from their past defensive errors that cost them so dear last season.

Should they plug some of those defensive hole from last year, Myler’s young guns will almost certainly find themselves in a title race alongside the likes of Bray Wanderers, Galway United and Shelbourne.

UCD often head into a First Division campaign underrated in terms of their promotion hopes – and that appears to be no different this year.

As far as picking a dark horse for the title you would do well to find better than UCD, and despite the talk of the incomings at the likes of Shels and Galway – the Students chance of landing a fourth First Division should not be discounted.

Title Odds: 5/1.

First game: Athlone Town (home).