Derry City 1 UCD 2UCD REMOVED the hex which Derry City had held over them for the past five years when recording a shock victory at the Brandywell last night. And it was a deserved win for Martin Russell's youngsters who impressed with their fluent football throughout the opening half, despite having to defend stubbornly during the latter stages.
UCD’s sustained pressure was rewarded in the 36th minute when they deservedly broke the deadlock. The excellent Paul O’Connor played a precise ball through the middle and Barry McCabe timed his run to perfection before driving the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper Ger Doherty.
After the break the visitors caught Derry cold when straight from the kick-off they stunned the home crowd by doubling their lead. Midfielder O’Connor played another sublime pass and David McMillan beat the Derry offside trap to squeeze the ball home.
Derry, however, battled back and skipper Kevin Deery marked his half-time introduction with a goal, heading home a corner from the left in the 52nd minute.
And the home side produced the stronger finish but they failed to beat the busy Barron. Indeed, Derry could have shared the spoils in the final minute but Stewart Greacen headed wide of the target when it appeared easier to score.
DERRY CITY: Doherty; Molloy, Greacen, McEleney, McCaffrey; McDaid, Higgins (Deery, h-t), McNamee, Brolly (Duffy, 73); Morrison (Murphy, 51); Farren.
UCD: Barron; Douglas, Leahy, D. O'Connor, Nangle; Clarke (Rusk, 87), P. O'Connor, Benson (Kavanagh, 87), McCabe , Ledwith; McMillan (Mulhall, 83).
Referee: D McKeon (Dublin).
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