Willie O’Connor backs UCD side to push on after heartbreaking end to campaign

None

When the dust settles on the 2024 campaign for UCD, they will likely look back on it as a year that contained many positives.

The Students lined out in the First Division this term with a squad that was much-changed from the team that were relegated from the 2023 Premier Division.

But they managed to pull themselves off the canvas and come second to runaway second-tier league winners Cork City.

And while their season ended in heartache with a playoff defeat against Bray Wanderers over two legs, boss Willie O’Connor believes his side can learn from the year.

“The more big games they play, the better,” O’Connor said when speaking to extratime.com on Monday evening. 

“They're all really young and I think inexperience might have cost us in Bray (during the first-leg).

“They've been really, really good this season. I think ten of them had never played senior League of Ireland football before this year.

"Four or five of them played in the under-17s last year, a few are in their first year of college and they finished second in the league.

“It is quite an achievement. They’re really disappointed because we felt we probably could have gone through to the next stage.



“But when you reflect on the season, we have to be quite happy with the overall improvement and the development of the team.”

It was a year of significant progress at the UCD Bowl with experienced midfielder Ronan Finn returning to join a promising young side.

“I don't think too many had us in the playoffs in their predictions at the start of the year and we finished second,” O’Connor added.

“I know we’re not happy to finish second and stuff but in terms of their development, the boys did really, really well.

“I think we were very dominant in most of the games we played this season. We were really dominant in possession and just missed that bit of cutting edge.

“We will improve next year and get better with a year of men’s football behind them. Hopefully we can take more of our chances.”



Remarkably, UCD were the lowest scoring side of those in the top-five this season with just 47 goals scored. 

Though they did only concede 37 times – which was significantly better than their playoff foes.

But they will likely see experienced players such as Ciaran Behan, Donal Higgins and Danu Kinsella-Bishop depart during the off-season following the completion of their studies in Belfield.

“We'll see how things pan out for them but they've been brilliant servants to the club,” O’Connor added. 

"It’s disappointing for them to finish in this way but they have been brilliant this year with the younger boys and they are great lads as well.”

About Andrew Dempsey

View Full Profile