Sporting Fingal 4 - 1 UCD

• Niall Farrell
• Fri, Oct 29 2010


Sporting Fingal secured fourth place and a chance of qualifying for the Europa League with a 4-1 win over UCD at the Morton Stadium tonight. Braces from Gary O'Neill and Glen Crowe gave Fingal the victory.

The home side couldn’t have had a better start after they scored with the first shot of the match after just two minutes- Glen Crowe rising the highest to head the ball in after Conan Byrne floated in a corner.

The game's second shot on target saw another headed goal- Gary O'Neill this time for Sporting. Referee Anthony Buttimer played the advantage following a foul on Conan Byrne, which allowed Ronan Finn to cross the ball in for the striker to finish off the move.

Gary O'Neill scored his second of the evening with the third headed goal after 24 minutes in somewhat bizarre circumstances.

Ronan Finn crossed from a narrow angle after Alan Kirby found him out on the wing. The ball hit a UCD defender, then hit O'Neill's head before striking the crossbar and going in.

A late flourish saw UCD have a bit more possession, but Fingal took their three-goal lead into the break.

The Students came into the second half with added impetus,although Fingal had most of the possession in the opening minutes of the half.

Brendan Clarke made some excellent saves to deny UCD. The Students scored on the hour mark though after a period of consistent pressure.

Clarke pushed a McMillan shot wide for a corner, which Paul Corry took. Michael Leahy poked the ball in after the Fingal defenders completely missed it.

Sporting lacked an edge in the early stages of the second half, but Leahy's goal sparked them back into life.

On 67 minutes Glen Crowe scored the fourth with a stunning strike from about 25 yards out. Alan Kirby flicked the ball on out on the right flank for Conan Byrne to play a cross-pitch ball for Crowe.

The ex-Bohs man struck the ball sweetly first time, the ball's wicked curve giving Billy Brennan no chance in the UCD goal.

UCD tried to claw their way back into the match, but Sporting were able to stave off any further threats to their goal for the remainder of the match to seal fourth position in the Premier Division.

Sporting Fingal: Brendan Clarke, Kenny Browne, Lorcan Fitzgerald, Shaun Williams, Colin Hawkins, Glen Crowe, Conan Byrne, Ronan Finn, Gary O'Neill, Alan Kirby (Keith Quinn '89), Shane McFaul
Subs not used: Darren Quigley, Brian Gannon, John Frost, Eamon Zayed

UCD: Billy Brennan, Sean Harding, Brian Shortall, Michael Leahy, Evan McMillan, Greg Bolger (Graham Rusk ht), Robbie Creevy, Paul Corry, Ciaran Kilduff, David McMillan, Chris Mulhall
Subs not used: Andy Boyle, Paul O'Conor, Keith Ward, Ger Barron

Referee: Anthony Buttimer (Cork).

Attendance: 812

Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Gary O'Neill