UCD continued to up the ante at the top of the League of Ireland First
Division after a well deserved 2-1 win over Limerick FC at the UCD Bowl on
Friday night. The night could prove to be a vital one in terms of
promotion after Shelbourne went down 2-1 at home to Wexford Youths.
The game got off to quite a lively start. After only five minutes and before the Students had time to adjust to the game, Limerick silenced the home crowd. Daryl Kavanagh rounded off a sweet one-two with Dave Ryan to drive in off the post and claim an early lead for the visitors.
The Shannon-siders seemed intent on getting a foothold in the game.
Pat Scully came out in the Limerick Leader during the week and was
highly critical of his side’s failure to stand up and be counted when
it mattered.
Those utterances seemed to be rubbing off on one or two of his players
and Shane Treacy put down a marker in a tussle with the UCD’s captain
Ronan Finn. It was merely handbags at six paces but there was a
distinct spirit in the Limerick ranks at the Bowl in the early stages.
They kept up the pressure and in the 24th minute Kavanagh made light
work of a challenge in the centre circle. He swiveled deftly and sent
a through pass into the channel to provide bait for a lively Dave Ryan
but keeper Billy Brennan read it perfectly and was out quickly to
clear to safety.
As the first half wore on UCD began to show why they lie in second place in the division and not their counterparts. Slowly Limerick began to cede under the pressure of a hard working midfield with Peter McMahon working tirelessly for the Students.
With the possession shifting to UCD so too were the chances and in the 27th
minute Ciaran Kilduff just failed to get enough weight on his header
from Keith Ward’s inward swerving cross.
The pressure continued unabated in the second half and the
introduction of Chris Mulhall on the wing proved a masterstroke by Martin Russell. Within five minutes of the re-start his free-kick into
the box was poorly dealt with and David McMillan was on hand to steer
a well struck shot to the right of Ryan.
UCD sensed the game was there for the taking and drove forward in waves,
Mulhall causing all sorts of problems on the right wing.
In the 65th minute he was rewarded for his efforts. After receiving
the pass from Ronan Finn, Mulhall’s ferocious shot from 30 yards took
a slight deflection and looped in over Ryan to put the Students ahead.
UCD could have had more, Ciaran Kilduff in particular guilty of
missing when it may have been easier to score after 77 minutes.
It wasn’t to matter in the end, Limerick went home having much to do
to resurrect a poor season while UCD go into their next game
against Sporting Fingal with everything, including promotion, to play
for.
UCD: Billy Brennan, Gareth Matthews (Brian Shorthall ,15‘), Ciaran
Nangle, Andy Boyle, Evan McMillan, Peter McMahon, David McMillan,
Ronan Finn, Ciaran Kilduff, Graham Rusk, Kevin Ward (Chris Mullhall,
45’) . Booked: Shorthall ‘30
Limerick FC: Dave Ryan,Jason Hughes, MartinDeady, Conor Molam, Gavin
Roche, Bobby Tier, Shane Treacy, Thomas Lyons, John Tierney, Dave Ryan
(David McGrath, 73‘), Daryl Kavanagh
Referee: Philip Cascada
Extratime Man of the Match: Chris Mulhall. Although only introduced as a sub at
half-time his influence had the greatest of bearings in an
entertaining encounter.
