Sligo Rovers continued their march towards a first League of Ireland title in over three decades with a dominant 3-0 win over UCD at the Showground.
First half goals from Mark Quigley and Pascal Millien were followed by a stunning Romuald Boco strike mid-way through the second half.
Sligo could have had a fourth in the dying moments of the tie, but Gavin Peers' header slipped narrowly wide of the front post from a Joey Ndo corner.
The current FAI Cup holders went into the game with no fresh injury concerns with long-term injury victim Danny North (cruciate ligament) their only absentee.
Manager Ian Baraclough could afford to rest both Alan Keane and captain Danny Ventre in place of Lee Lynch and Joseph Ndo respectively, such is the strength in depth available to him.
The Students welcomed back Paul Corry from suspension while Graham Rusk (shin), Cillian Morrison (shin), Samir Belhout (foot) and John Kelly (knee) all continued their stints on the treatment table.
The league leaders took charge in the opening minutes and almost made the pressure tell on seven minutes when Jason McGuinness headed Joseph Ndo's in-swinging corner narrowly wide.
Daniel Ledwith was responsible for UCD's first opportunity of the evening two minutes later when he got on the end of a Paul Corry corner at the edge of the Sligo area, but sent his shot blazing over Gary Rogers' crossbar.
Sligo enjoyed the majority of the possession throughout the first half and carved out further chances through Millien and Romuald Boco.
The Haitian international was unlucky to see his shot from outside the UCD area float over Mark McGinley's crossbar on 20 minutes before Boco went close twice in quick succession on 21 and 25 minutes.
Martin Russell's charges had a rare attempt at the Sligo goal soon after, but Rogers was equal to David McMillan's long range drive.
The Bit o’Red continued to turn the screw and were eventually rewarded on 38 minutes when Millien linked up with Boco 20 yards from goal. The Benin international then supplied Quigley with a neat pass and the former Bohs striker netted his seventh goal in six games for Sligo.
The home side didn't have to wait long to double their advantage as Quigley's awareness found Millien through the middle just three minutes later. The energetic winger shrugged off the attentions of his marker as he bore down on goal and sent the ball past McGinley to give Rovers a two goal lead at half-time.
UCD showed a little more promise early in the second half and Rogers had to be alert at his front post on 55 minutes to stop Dean Clarke's goal bound shot.
Not to be outdone, Sligo turned on the style with infront of a crowd of 2,375 and managed to produce two more goal scoring opportunities courtesy of Boco and David Cawley.
The home side were well in control by the closing stages and further stamped their authority on the game 14 minutes from time with an exquisite move which involved the movement and passing skills of Quigley and Gaynor, the latter spotting Boco at the edge of the UCD area, who then unleashed an unstoppable shot into McGinley's top corner.
Sligo saw out the remainder of the game in a confident and controlled manner.
Sligo Rovers: Gary Rogers, Seamus Conneely, Jason McGuinness, Gavin Peers, Ross Gaynor, Lee Lynch, Joseph Ndo, David Cawley, Romuald Boco, Pascal Millien, Mark Quigley.
Subs: Richard Brush, Jeff Henderson, Alan Keane, Danny Ventre, Ryan Connolly (for Cawley 82), Raffaele Cretaro (for Millien 44), Liam Buchanan (for Boco 78).
UCD: Mark McGinley, Hugh Douglas, David McMillan, Dean Clarke, Ciaran Nangle, David O'Connor, Michael Leahy, Paul O'Connor, Paul Corry, Robert Benson, Daniel Ledwith.
Subs: Gerard Barron, James Kavanagh, Tomas Boyle (for O'Connor 88), Barry McCabe, Sean Russell (for Ledwith HT), Gary Burke (for Clarke 64), Chris Lyons.
