Captain Declan O’Brien struck after just four minutes at United Park to keep Drogheda United on the fringes of the title race, as they beat UCD 1-0 tonight.
However, Paul Doolin’s men were made to fight all the way for the points as UCD threatened on several occasions to make Drogheda pay for their failure to kill the game off.
College went into the match buoyed by an emphatic victory over Bray Wanderers last weekend, but they found themselves chasing this game from the fourth minute as the Boynesiders made a dream start.
Paul Keegan’s diagonal pass out of defence picked out Glen Fitzpatrick and he quickly transferred the ball on to Declan O’Brien who fired decisively past goalkeeper Darren Quigley.
If the home fans were expecting the floodgates to open, they were disappointed as neither keeper was seriously tested in the remaining minutes of the first half.
Damian Lynch twice went close from long distance for Drogheda and Steven Gray drilled a free-kick narrowly wide, while UCD striker Conor Sammon had a 30-yard drive that whistled past Dan Connor’s post.
In a much livelier second half, Sammon was denied by a fine save from Connor after latching onto a quick throw-in, while Drogheda’s O’Brien was similarly foiled by Quigley after beating the UCD offside trap.
Drogheda were almost punished for their failure to score a second goal when Tony McDonnell’s goal-bound shot was brilliantly pushed away by Connor.
Quigley was immediately called upon at the other end, diverting Brian Shelley’s 30-yard effort over the crossbar, and in injury time the UCD keeper performed more heroics to keep out substitute Sami Ristila’s effort.
Drogheda United: Connor, Lynch, Shelley, Gartland, Gray, Robinson, Whelan, Keegan, Bradley, O’Brien, Fitzpatrick.
UCD: Quigley, Kenna, McNally, McDonnell, Doyle, Kavanagh, Dicker, Crowley, Ryan, Finn, Sammon.
Referee: Hugo Whoriskey (Meath).
