A MONTH ago Theo Dunne was fond of saying "this was the type of game we would have lost last season". A month ago mind, yesterday's draw at Belfield Park was the type of game UCD would have won.
During October, UCD ground out three successive 1-0 wins yet, ironically, the students played better football and created many more chances when leading from the 35th to the 70th minutes yesterday.
This was a match they should have won but one of the anomalies of soccer is that Sligo Rovers probably deserved their point, such was the strength of their comeback, especially after equalising.
Although the top three give the impression that they might pull away, both Dunne and his newly installed Sligo counterpart, Jimmy Mullen, will take some encouragement from this game - namely the respective return to action of their pivotal front men Mick O'Byrne and Ian Gilzean.
Both sides have suffered from their absence, totalling ten and seven games respectively with knee ligament injuries. O'Byrne played from the start yesterday and though lacking the sharpness and fitness which might have seen him seal the game, his clever positioning and link play added another dimension to UCD's football.
Likewise, the promising Aidan Lynch completed his second game after a seven week absence and will also be all the better for it.
UCD had a more solid look in midfield, while Jason Sherlock benefitted from the renewal of his unique alliance with O'Byrne. Turning and twisting his markers continually, Sherlock put the frightencrs up Sligo when beating a defender and clipping the bar with a rising second minute drive. Just three minutes later, O'Byrne got in behind Sligo for a lobbed cross to the unmarked Ciaran Kavanagh who volleyed over.
James Mulligan was as much of a live wire for Sligo, though the service to him was comparatively poor. His turn and cross saw Johnny Kenny head over at the far post after 19 minutes.
Despite failing to sustain their bright opening, UCD struck first when Aidan Lynch's lobbed cross found Sherlock. With not a Rover in sight, he had ample time to pull the ball down and slip it past Nicky Broujos. A "shrug" of the shoulders and it was to the college.
Sligo's passing was pretty abysmal for an hour. Apart from isolated threats by Mulligan or the odd dash along the touchline from Johnny Kenny, it took them 55 minutes to produce their second shot from Mulligan.
Jason Colwell switched play tellingly or broke up Sligo moves in front of his back four - they were more adept than the visitors at building from the back.
The key spell came after the break, O'Byrne failing to beat the advancing Broujos when released by Robbie Griffin, before Eamonn McLoughlin and Sherlock had goal bound shots blocked as Rovers withstood five corners in seven minutes.
Cue to Gilzean's introduction, where upon the match gradually altered, as much through his nuisance value as anything else. He is as important to Sligo's football as O'Byrne is to UCD, which says plenty about the two sides football.
The Sligo target man likes to put himself about - as the English football saying goes - and aside from giving Sligo an aerial presence which their long ball game demands, spent much of the time acting as an auxiliary referee and winning free kicks.
As Sligo are much the stronger set piece side, this was important and one of those frees earned Sligo their 70th minute equaliser. Gilzean pulled away to the far post in beating McLoughlin to Chris Twiddy's delivery, heading the ball back across the face of the goal where Mulligan pounced for his sixth goal of the season.
Thereafter, a typically spirited Sligo finished the stronger and after Aidan Lynch shot wide from Terry Palmer's lay off, Kenny, Steve Berks and Mulligan threatened to steal the points for Rovers.
