- Aaron Gallagher
- Fri, Jul 29 2016
UCD maintained their grip on third place in the First Division courtesy of a rampant 5-1 victory over Athlone Town on Friday night as first half goals from Jack Watson, Greg Sloggett and defender Maxi Kouogun were added to by a strike from Kieran Marty Waters following the interval as well as a first goal for Jason Byrne at the Bowl.
The result sees Collie O’Neill’s side move onto 34 points in the play-off position, with Pete Mahon’s Drogheda side holding firm on second spot via 1-0 win at United Park over Cabinteely. With Shelbourne too falling short 2-0 to leaders Limerick, Cobh Ramblers now present the sole outside shot to UCD and Drogheda, all vying for the gilded runners up spot to Martin Russell’s side on top.
It took the game less than twenty minutes to register its first goal following a period of UCD dominance in terms of possession, Greg Sloggett and Gary O’Neill easing passages of play between Athlone lines, leaving the hosts chasing shadows which continued for the game’s entirety.
An all-around fantastic move from UCD which started with a precise kick-out from the hands of goalkeeper Niall Corbet ended with Kieran Marty Waters’ devastating through ball meeting the run of Jack Watson through the middle of the Athlone defence.
Town goalkeeper Jamie Quinn was visibly in between two states of mind between coming for the ball and remaining on his line - ultimately he decided on a poor combination of both which would see Watson’s side footed effort penetrate through the keeper’s dive and into the back of the net for the lead.
The scoreline read 2-0 soon after when midfielder Greg Sloggett found time and space in front of a sheepish Athlone defence before completely hammering an effort into the bottom corner of the goal, the player hitting the ball so hard the it would be fair to assume the UCD equipment manager may have feared it bursting before slashing the back of the net. Game set and match with well over the hour remaining on the clock.
But Athlone’s punishment continued four minutes later as a corner from captain Gary O’Neill was forcefully floating into the top corner of the goal with a powerful header, UCD now heading into halftime with a sizable 3-0 lead that looked only to grow as the second half kicked-off.
A painful night was made worse for Athlone three minutes into the second half. A counter-attack at breakneck speed exposed a disjointed Athlone defence which would see Ryan Swan’s curling cross from the right wing find Kieran Marty Waters in space, vying for a simple tap-in from no more than three yards out.
On a poor night for Town’s Jamie Quinn, the goalkeeper performed an extraordinary save to deny Waters on the first attempt however the forward slammed the ball home on the second time of asking to make it 4-0 and ease the game into a flow of chances at both ends, with the result beyond any realm of doubt.
A great night for The College was made even sweeter when substitute Georgie Kelly turned on a sixpence owing to a young Stanley Matthews before offering a chance on a plate for 38-year-old veteran striker Jason Byrne who rolled back the years by slamming his chance past Quinn, making it 5-0 on 89 minutes.
Those last few remaining moments left enough time for referee Adriano Reale to offer Athlone the chance of salvation in the form of a penalty kick. Ronan Hanaphy stood the test and eased the ball into the top corner to end the night with a sobering 5-1 defeat.
UCD: Niall Corbet; Mark Langtry (Jason Byrne 70), Liam Scales, Josh Collins, Maxi Kouogun, Greg Sloggett (Jason McClelland 80), Cathal Brady (Georgie Kelly 70), Gary O’Neill, Ryan Swan, Jack Watson, Kieran Marty Waters
Subs not used: Conor Kearns, Sean Coyne, Daniel Tobin, Daire O’Connor.
Bookings: Maxi Kouogun (90).
Athlone Town: Jamie Quinn; Danny Molloy, David Brooks, Jack Quinn, Ian Fletcher, Darragh Concannon (Idris Oyeniyi 45), Conor Barry (Aidan Byrne 82), Colm Cass, Ronan Hanaphy, Michael Monaghan (Sean McGrane 80), Roy King.
Subs not used: Chris Reid, Ryan Gaffey, Claudio Silva, Sean Nolan.
Bookings: None.
Referee: Adriano Reale.
Attendance: 150 (estimate).
ExtraTime.ie Man of the Match: Maxi Kougogun (UCD).
