Lorcan Healy produced a string of quality saves to earn newly promoted UCD their first point of the season as frustrated Finn Harps had to settle for a share of the spoils at the UCD Bowl.
The College keeper showed his agility with diving saves in either direction as well as displaying excellent positional sense to make up to half a dozen stops.
Due to last week's postponement caused by Storm Eunice, Harps’ first game of the campaign saw Ollie Horgan, who had to watch from the bank behind the dugout due to a carry over of a suspension from last season, bring in six new signings.
Chief among them were international imports, Spanish defender Jose Carrillo, Croatian striker Filip Mihaljevic and French born midfielder Elie N’Zeyi.
Though UCD, with five teenagers in a side with an average age of exactly 20, including a debut for 18-year-old new signing John Ryan, passed the ball well to shade the early exchanges, it was Harps’ more direct approach that brought the first opening of note on 16 minutes.
From a second successive corner, Bastien Hery’s cross found Mihaljevic, who glanced a header wide from a promising position.
UCD continued to enjoy a good deal of the ball but struggled in the final third to trouble Harps’ solid rearguard.
Harps were having more joy at the other end as UCD needed Healy to rescue them on 22 minutes.
Barry McNamee’s cross from the left was laid off by Mihaljevic for ex-Student Yoyo Mahdy, whose drive was brilliantly turned round a post by Healy at full stretch.
And Healy had to be there again for UCD on 36 minutes with another telling stop.
Ryan and 17-year-old Eric Yoro got their wires crossed to gift McNamee a free run on goal. Healy stood up well to save with his feet from the Harps winger, who really should have scored.
And the UCD goalkeeper continued to keep his side in the game from the restart, holding a stinging drive from McNamee before saving superbly with his feet after Mihaljevic met Regan Donelon’s looping cross with a downward header.
Yet again Healy was worked on 55 minutes, launching himself to his right to tip another Mihaljevic header out for a corner from Ryan Connolly’s set-piece.
It was the 58th minute before UCD finally threatened.
Sean Brennan found Evan Caffrey’s run into space in behind. And though the midfielder cleverly lobbed keeper Mark McGinley, he saw his effort bounce over off the crossbar.
UCD had justifiable claims for a penalty ignored on 72 minutes when Harps skipper Dave Webster certainly appeared to trip Collie Whelan inside the area.
Dublin referee David Dunne didn’t agree and actually booked Whelan for diving, to the consternation of the Students.
UCD might then have snatched an unlikely win in stoppage time.
Captain Jack Keaney got his long range free-kick past the wall only to see Mark McGinley make his only real save of the game when pushing the ball round a post.
UCD: Lorcan Healy; John Ryan, Eric Yoro, Sam Todd, Daniel Norris; Jack Keaney; Liam Kerrigan, Sean Brennan, Evan Caffrey, Dylan Duffy (Mark Dignam 58); Collie Whelan.
Finn Harps: Mark McGinley; Ethan Boyle, Dave Webster, José Carrillo, Regan Donelon (Conor Tourish 82); Bastien Hery (Ryan Rainey 65), Ryan Connolly, Élie N’Zeyi, Barry McNamee; Filip Mihaljević (Eric McWoody 78), Yoyo Mahdy.
Referee: David Dunne (Dublin).
