UCD EARNED A crucial victory in the Airtricity League First Division tonight, which sees them climb to within a point of leaders Waterford at the top of the table.
The students survived the early pressure from Shelbourne to steal an unlikely victory at Tolka Park thanks to a Ben Hanrahan goal in the closing stages of the game.
Shelbourne looked to be the more dominant side from the off. James English tried to set up a simple tap-in on five minutes, but Chris Lyons couldn’t get on the end of the pass to apply the finish.
Lyons launched a left-footed effort shortly after, but failed to find the target.
The Students started to find their rhythm after the restart, with Georgie Kelly pulling his shot wide after the hour mark.
Shelbourne continued to press and came close to breaking the deadlock coming into the final 20 minutes, but a shot from Lyons was crucially kept out by Evan Osam.
Despite the sustained pressure coming from Shelbourne, it was UCD who took the lead in the 84th minute.
In a move that was against the run of play, goalkeeper Niall Corbett found Hanrahan, who crashed the ball passed Dean Delany with a volley.
Meanwhile at Stradbrook, Cabinteely FC frustrated league leaders Waterford and could have had an opportunity to go in front in the opening minutes.
Mark O’Sullivan went to ground in a tussle for possession, but appeals for a penalty were dismissed by referee Damien MacGraith.
Both sides traded goal chances for the remainder of the half, with Cabinteely’s Jack Watson forcing a good save from Matthew Connor.
Daire Doyle had the best chance of the game when he gathered possession in the Waterford box, but his second half effort sailed wide.
Elsewhere, Athlone Town recorded a 1-0 victory over Wexford at home, just hours after their manager Ricardo Monsanto stepped down from his position at the club. Ricardo Cravos took charge of the side for the evening.
Walter Invernizzi put the hosts in front with a penalty-kick in the 24th minute of the opening half.
The referee pointed to the spot after Craig McCabe was adjudged to have slid into too late on Dragos Sfrijan, and Invernizzi provided the finish.
McCabe received a yellow card for the challenge.
First Division Results:
Athlone Town 1-0 Wexford FC
Cabinteely FC 0-0 Waterford FC
Shelbourne 0-1 UCD
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