UCD AFC Official Website

UCD AFC drew 1-1 with Drogheda United in the UCD Bowl. 

UCD                     (1) 1          DROGHEDA UNITED    (0) 1

Kilduff 23                                              Fitzpatrick 58 pen

Airtricity League Premier Division

UCD Bowl, Friday 3 September 2010

By BRIAN de SALVO

At half time it was going well.   UCD, ahead through a stunning goal, was on course to leapfrog Galway and Dundalk into sixth place salvation.   By the final whistle all that remained was the frustration of what might have been.

This was one of those games where the participation of the referee has a direct bearing on its result.   The double whammy of a penalty plus a red card in the 57^th minute effectively ended UCD’s quest for three vital points.

Of course, Mr Rogers can only monitor the play that is presented to him but there were aspects to Robbie Creevy’s dismissal that are within the observer’s remit, particularly since the initial yellow card offence took place immediately in front of me; indeed I was better placed to see it than the referee.

Creevy made a great retrieving tackle.   The ball broke loose and the Blues midfielder was up in a flash to compete for it a second time.   He may have been a fraction late or perhaps the official penalised the manner in which he made the second challenge.   Creevy seemed to me unfortunate.   It was intense, high speed action but the player seemed to compete with determination not malice and I don’t think the assistant, who shared my viewpoint, flagged.   Free kick maybe but the booking was harsh.

What happened next may be significant.   Creevy’s response was heated and indignant and I heard Mr Rogers advise him to accept the decision and get on with it.   A minute later the player was red carded after one of those goalmouth melees that now seem to accompany every corner kick.   If you red carded every transgressor in such circumstances many games would grind to a halt for lack of contestants and custom and practice seems to be to try to man manage these situations rather than apply the laws.

I could not see exactly what took place on this occasion. The press box opted for hand ball.   In which case the first yellow card is the only issue.   But Martin Russell seemed to believe that Creevy had been penalised for holding on to the man he was marking.   Whatever the official position it was an unsatisfactory way to determine a match that had promised much.

UCD restored Billy Brennan in goal, Ciaran Nangle to left full and had Michael Leahy deputising for the injured Andy Boyle in central defence.   They had Ward, Creevy, Bolger and Moore in a tight, buzzing midfield with the industrious Graham Rusk playing in the hole behind Kilduff.   The home striker could have put UCD ahead as early as the first minute, breaking clear on the left only to shoot across Duggan and wide.   Nangle’s return lasted just five minutes before he suffered an ankle injury, the seriousness of which is still to be assessed.   Gareth Matthews replaced him but, after an initial Drogheda flourish, UCD’s hold on the game remained intact.

Click here to see more photos from the game by Ed Scannell.

The welcome positive for the home fans was the sparkling football played by a team which has seemed a little browbeaten by the demands of the Premier Division game in recent weeks.   Drogheda are not the best team in the competition by some margin but Darius Kierans new look combination are a distinct improvement on the squad that visited the Bowl in April and played with spirit.   Yet Kilduff gave the visitors plenty of problems at the back and could have won the game for the Students by half time.   In the 18^th minute he bisected Drog’s central defenders and lobbed the advancing Duggan only for the ball to glance the outside of the upright.   But three minutes later UCD were ahead with an effort worthy of goal of the season, a series of one touch passes masterminded by Keith Ward and involving Rusk and Kilduff which ended with the big striker on the right coolly slotting the ball past Duggan to bring himself into undisputed eighth place in the UCD all time goal scoring charts.

It could have been more.   Alan McNally took Moore’s effort off the line and Robert Duggan made a fine save to turn Leahy’s header from Bolger’s free kick over.   It is no small tribute to say that Leahy’s contribution was such that Andy Boyle was hardly missed.   John Flood replaced McNamara at half time and made an immediate impact, finding Meenan from the left but the midfielder dwelt on the ball and Leahy elegantly dispossessed him.   Drogheda had returned with batteries re-charged and Brennan had to make a smart parry from former team mate Peter McMahon before plunging at Flood’s feet as the ball was scrambled away.

McMahon was in action at the other end and almost conceded an own goal when he headed Karl Moore’s effort past his own post.   Then the game was turned on its head with Creevy’s red card, Glen Fitzpatrick sending Brennan the wrong way from the penalty spot.   But the ten men College side was far from a spent force and Duggan played a key role in keeping the scores level as inspired substitutions kept UCD’s chances alive.   A smart parry foiled Corry, the first of these, in the 71^st minute and the tall midfielder went on to promise retribution and might consider himself unlucky not to have got a penalty award of his own when he was clearly pushed in the area.

With ten minutes left Martin Russell sprang Dwayne Wilson from the bench and his speed taxed the tiring Drogheda defenders.   On one occasion Duggan needed to be unflappable as the home winger bore down on him in pursuit of a bouncing back pass and he also made a fine stop from Kilduff.   Wilson did have the ball in the net just before the end but was clearly offside and in the end UCD were indebted to a great leaping one handed save by Brennan from Fitzpatrick for preserving a point from this entertaining encounter.

UCD: Billy Brennan; Paul O’Conor, Evan McMillan, Michael Leahy, Ciaran Nangle (Gareth Matthews 5); Keith Ward (Dwayne Wilson 79), Robbie Creevy (s/o 56), Greg Bolger, Karl Moore (Paul Corry 61); Graham Rusk; Ciaran Kilduff.

DROGHEDA UTD: Robert Duggan; Eric McGill, Alan McNally, Mick Daly, Yael Haro; Darren Meenan, Conor Sinnott , Ryan Brennan, Peter McMahon (Ronan McEnteggart 75); Darren McNamara (John Flood h/t), Glen Fitzpatrick.

Referee: Rob Rogers