Kildare County 0 - 1 UCD

For a second game in a row, Kildare County were left feeling hard done by after another defeat to top opposition in this hard-hitting league encounter. Just like their away tie two weeks ago against third-placed Sporting Fingal, County matched their illustrious opponents for the most part, but a slight lapse in defence saw Chris Mulhall get in for the winning goal with just six minutes remaining.

UCD had started the game playing at an extremely high tempo and almost took the lead after a mere ten seconds when they broke right from the kick-off but new signing Darren Kelly was alert to the danger and gathered the ball. They continued to keep County on the back foot, but after the first ten minutes Kildare started to play a bit and the midfield trio of Darren O’Brien and Darren Jackson and Cathal Brady began to get on the ball a lot more.

This inevitably led to some chances for the home side, and they really should have taken the lead after 13 minutes when a corner driven in from the left by David Jackson was met by the head of Liam Tiernan, but the former Killester man was unable to keep his effort down and it sailed over the UCD crossbar. This sparked a good period of pressure from County with Dave O’Riordan, who was awarded the Kildare County Player Of The Month trophy before kick-off, heading just wide of the target with 15 minutes gone.

It was clear to see that the confidence was growing in this Kildare team, even though The Students had a glorious opportunity on 22 minutes when Chris Mulhall shot just over from a distance of 12 yards after a strong run down the left by full-back Ciaran Nangle. They also had an effort on target just three minutes later when a free-kick by Ronan Finn, a worthy addition to the UCD starting line-up after his recent suspension, was well directed at goal but was stopped comfortably by Kelly in the end.

UCD were looking lively at various times, with Keith Ward in particular getting on the ball regularly. County were extremely good in defence however, with 18 year-old right-full-back Craig Purcell having a terrific game for The Thoroughbreds. County then had a decent shout for a penalty when Christy Doran went to ground after going up against UCD ‘keeper Gerard Barron, but the appeal was waved away by referee Graham Kelly. There may well have been some contact from the goalie, but it certainly appeared that Doran was looking for it and it would have been a harsh decision to award a spot-kick against Martin Russell’s side.

Chances were few and far between for the remainder of the half, with the best effort coming the way of the visitors with two first-half minutes remaining when striker Timmy Purcell had his shot from a tight angle clawed away by the towering Kelly, when Ward was probably in a better position just to his left.

So, this meant that the sides were scoreless going in at the break and there was still everything to play for in the second period. Kelly had to be on his toes just two minutes in when John Reilly broke free down the right, but he managed to stop the near-post effort and Kildare were let off the hook. Yet again though, County didn’t let UCD, who are now second in the table, grab a hold of the game and the concern that was being felt by Russell was exemplified by the double substitution after 58 minutes that saw Sean Harding and Keith Ward being replaced.

To be fair, these changes did spark some life into the UCD side, and Ronan Finn was starting to show what he was capable of with some fine deliveries from out the field causing Dean Lawrence and Tiernan some difficulties. Kildare were still a threat though, and Doran had an effort just off target on 64 minutes following a fine cross by Brady. Brady was dangerous as always but he suffered a bad injury with 18 minutes left and was replaced by former Meath GAA star Dean Barrett.

This gave Kildare an extra dimension and he did cause some problems, but UCD were unlucky not to go in front after 77 minutes when Finn hit the post from 15 yards. Just as it seemed that County’s luck was about to change, a long ball out of defence by UCD wasn’t dealt with by Craig Purcell, and his slip-up presented a glorious chance for Mulhall who toe-poked home.

This was a heartbreaking defeat for County, and they would suffer another blow in injury-time when Orrin Farrell was given a straight red-card for kicking out at Mulhall. Kildare face an away trip to Mervue United this Friday, and will hope for some good fortune against a side that were hammered 7-0 by Shelbourne in their last match.

Kildare County: Darren Kelly; Craig Purcell (David Lee ‘88), Dean Lawrence, Liam Tiernan, Baba Isaaka; Orrin Farrell, Darren O’Brien, David Jackson, Cathal Brady (Dean Barrett ‘82), Christy Doran; Dave O’Riordan.

UCD: Gerard Barron; Sean Harding (Brian Shortall ‘58), Andrew Boyle, Evan McMillan, Ciaran Nangle; John Reilly, Robbie Creevy, Ronan Finn, Keith Ward (David McMillen ‘58); Chris Mulhall, Timmy Purcell.

Referee: Graham Kelly.

Extratime.ie player-of-the match: Ronan Finn (UCD). Showed just how good a talent he is with an excellent performance against a very strong Kildare midfield.