UCD’s latest fixture against Finn Harps on Friday the 28th of August produced one of the more memorable games of the season so far. With end-to-end football throughout, William O’Connor’s men managed to secure the three points late on through Hugh Smith’s 89th-minute winner, securing what turned out to be a 5-4 thriller at the Bowl. UCD’s Charles Akinrintayo opened the scoring in the 20th minute, but Finn Harps responded positively with goals from Shaunie Bradley and Oran Brogan to take a 2-1 lead into the break.
The second half began perfectly for UCD, with Luca Cailloce restoring parity and Louis Dignam putting us back in front within 15 minutes of the restart. Gavin McAteer levelled the sides once again through an impressive goal from the edge of the box only for UCD to retake the lead three minutes later with a Dignam free-kick from range, bagging his second goal of the contest.
Max Hutchison appeared to have rescued a point for the visitors with only 10 minutes left to play. In a game that seemed determined to deny a winner, UCD’s Hugh Smith found himself at the end of a cross swung in from the left, beating the keeper to secure victory for the home side with only a minute left of regular time.
UCD’s three points against the Donegal side takes them to 47 points in the league, retaining their second-place position and extending their advantage over third-place Bray Wanderers who failed to take a point from their loss to Athlone away. Bray’s 2-1 loss to the Midlanders will come as a sigh of relief to the college, as for the majority of the season both Bray and UCD have been battling it out for second place. With only seven games remaining in the season, and Bray having managed just one win in their last five league games, UCD can be confident of securing second place and the more favourable semi-final tie against fifth place when the league phase draws to a close with Kerry, Cobh, Longford and Athlone all still battling it out for that all-important final play-off spot.
UCD’s win also has implications for top-of-the-league Cork. The Rebels, who have been league leaders since the start of the season, were looking forward to gaining direct promotion back to the Premier Division and thought that would come in the form of a comfortable 2-0 home win over Wexford. However, UCD, who have been a pain for Cork of late following their surprise 5-2 victory in their last encounter, have extended the Cork side’s wait to see their team crowned champions, with 10 points still separating the two sides.
Looking ahead to UCD’s remaining seven league games, a lot is still up for grabs. UCD are still to play high-fliers Cork at Turner’s Cross, Bray Wanderers, who they lost 6-0 to in their last clash, along with potential play-off opponents Longford and Cobh. With everything still to play for, UCD will be hoping the dramatic 5-4 victory can provide the momentum to carry them into the final stretch of their campaign.
The last time UCD secured promotion to the Premier Division was in 2021, when they came through the play-offs before defeating Waterford 2-1. Five years on, another run towards the top flight is beginning to take shape, and after the late drama of Friday night, there is plenty of reason for UCD to believe that history can repeat itself.
Ross O’Brien – Contributor