UCD 1 - 1 Bray Wanderers

An injury time equalizer from new signing Ciaran Kilduff, was enough for UCD to earn a late draw against Bray Wanderers on Monday night at the Belfield Bowl.

Kilduff volleyed home the equaliser after great play down the left wing from John Reilly and Ronan Finn, whose shot rebounded into the striker’s path allowing him to fire home.

UCD had their three new signings on show as Chris Mulhall, James Timmons and Kilduff all started the game.

The students started the game very brightly as they looked to find Kilduff and Chris Mulhall up front at every opportunity. Finn and Greg Bolger quickly asserted themselves in midfield, looking to play the ball wide to UCD’s wingers.

Bray's Fernando Romero, a constant threat down the left wing, had an early shot in the 11th minute which just sailed past the post.

Finn continued to pull the strings in the middle for UCD in a very tight first half, as he looked for Kilduff to knock down headers for Mulhall. Kenny Ward was a real threat down the right for the Students, taking on Bray’s fullback at every chance. However, his final ball was letting him down at times during the first half.

The opening 20 minutes were very quiet for Bray, as UCD enjoyed the lion’s share of possession. Mulcahy and Daire Doyle were busy in the middle for Bray, but their passing was sloppy at times as they failed to trouble their hosts much in the final third of the pitch. Finn and Bolger were seeing a lot of the ball as they looked for the killer pass through to their front men andFinn showed glimpses of great skill in the first half, beating a number of defenders before just shooting wide.

With 25 minutes on the clock, Bray took the lead against the run of play through Fernando Romero. Bray were awarded a free kick just outside the UCD box. Romero steadied himself and struck a lovely low flighted shot past the UCD keeper, beating him at his near post. A strike his fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres would have been proud of.

After going behind the students responded well, with Bolger coming close after a great break down UCD’s left wing.

Bray had a great chance to double their lead on 41 minutes. Great inter-play down the left between Massey and Romero saw the Spaniard pick out the run of Paddy Kavanagh, who tried an audacious chip only to see it land in the keeper’s hands.

The impressive Finn also came close for the students just before the end of the half. After skipping by two Bray midfielders, he was unlucky to see his shot blocked by the defender, as it looked certain to trouble O’Connor in the Wanderers goal. UCD were unlucky to be down at half time after an open and expansive first half by both teams.

After the break both sides made a number of changes with Bray's goal scorer Romero coming off.

The second half was a more physical affair as Eddie Gormley’s men began to out muscle the UCD midfield. Bray started the half with a much higher tempo, as their confidence began to grow throughout the second half.

UCD, looking to counter-attack down the wings in search of an equalizer, looked to play in the pacy Reilly and Ward down the wings.

Gormley made further changes to his team as Darren Forsyth and Ian McNeill came onto the field in the 57th minute. UCD gave Mulhall an hour before being replaced by Ciaran Nangle.

Bray began to take grip of the game, and McNeill came agonisingly close to doubling their lead in 67th minute when his header flew just over the bar.

UCD should have punished their visitors soon after when some slack defending from Bray let in Reilly who crossed the ball to Kilduff only to see his tame header go wide. The students were looking for the killer pass too much, as Bray began to hold onto possession better in the last 20 minutes.

Paul O’Connor and Niall Daly were introduced late on, replacing the impressive Kenny Ward and Sean Harding.

With UCD searching for the equaliser, Bray should have killed off the game with 10 minutes to go. A clever one-two down the left wing resulted in McNeill receiving the ball on the edge of the box, only to see his shot go wide.

With the game heading into injury time, the students committed more players forward in search of the equaliser. With two minutes to go their persistence paid off.

John Reilly broke down the right wing before picking out Finn who jinked past a Wanderers defender and unleashing a powerful shot on goal. O’Connor got a strong hand to the shot only to see it land at the feet of Kilduff, whose smart finish ended up in Wanderers net.

On the balance of play, Martin Russell’s men deserved their draw.

UCD Ger Barron; Sean Hardin, James Timmons, Brian Connaughton, Andy Boyle; Greg Bolger, Kenny War, Ronan Finn, Ciaran Kilduff; Chris Mulhall, John Reilly.
Subs: Ciaran Nangle, Mitch Kelly, Paul O’Connor, Niall Daly, Billy Brennan

Bray Wanderers: Chris O’Connor, Colm Tresson, Dane Massey, Derek Pender; Derek Foran, Daire Doyle, Paddy Kavanagh, Dave Mulcahy, Paul Byrne; John Mulroy, Fernando Romero.
Subs: Kelly, Ian McNeill, Darren Forsyth, Dave Webster, Chris Shields, John Flood.

Man of the Match: Ronan Finn (UCD) - He had a great first half and showed great skill and determination throughout the game.