It was a good day for UCD Football on Friday as they travelled to table-topping Cabinteely as part of the SSE Airtricity League First Division. The Students were all smiles as they came home with their first away victory since their triumph over Shelbourne in the League of Ireland Cup in April 2019.
The Students came out firing from the opening whistle, scoring early through the boot of Colm Whelan in the seventh minute. However, things cooled down after that as both teams jostled for control and were unable to reach the back of the net for the remainder of the first half.
Cabinteely’s discipline let them down, as they were reduced to 10 men at around the half hour mark, with Kevin Knight being shown red for a clash with UCD’s Paul Doyle. The hosts had a further two players enter the referee’s book in the first half, as Shane Barnes and Conor Keeley both saw yellow.
UCD kicked off the second half in much the same manner as they did the first, scoring within the first five minutes after the restart. This time it was Yoyo Mahdy who added to his score tally, and it would not be his only goal of the night. Mahdy bookended the second half with a goal in the final minute of the game, giving him his second brace in as many games for the Students, and securing the 0-3 victory for the visitors.
The League of Ireland First Division is heating up, with the top five teams all in with a shout of topping the table or at the very least making the playoffs. Cabinteely’s loss allowed Drogheda to close the gap at the top of the table, while UCD were able to hang on to their fourth position, behind Bray who have a slightly higher goal difference. UCD will host Wexford Youths on Sunday August 30 at the UCD Bowl.
Stephen Kisbey-Green – Co-Editor
