Impressive UCD call a halt to Bohemians' five-game unbeaten run

UCD 2 Bohemians 0:A FIRST league goal of the season for Stephen Doyle and a delightfully taken second from man-of-the-match Darren Meenan brought Bohemians late title surge to a shuddering halt last night.

Pat Fenlon’s in-form side were chasing a fifth win on the spin which would have left them just four points off the top of the table ahead of Friday’s Dublin derby against St Patrick’s Athletic.

But having been second best in the first half, UCD came alive in the second as they buried the memory of last week’s 4-0 hiding to Bray Wanderers in emphatic fashion.

Enjoying their first sustained spell of pressure in the game, UCD might have been ahead four minutes after the interval.

Meenan somewhat nonchalantly got past Stephen Hurley down the left to cross. But Doyle’s scuffed his shot high into the air and over the bar.

Undeterred, Doyle struck to give UCD their lead on 57 minutes. Bohemians substitute Lee Dixon was booked for a foul and Hugh Douglas whipped the resulting free into the edge of the area where it fell for Doyle whose shot took a deflection to loop over Barry Murphy.

Doyle should have scored again 10 minutes later. Meenan’s cross found the former unmarked but his header was saved comfortably by Murphy. The goalkeeper was in action again on 71 minutes, stretching full tilt to tip Meenan’s 25-yard shot over the top.

The little winger wasnt to be denied, though, and he sealed the home side’s win on 83 minutes.

His first effort luckily came back to him. But he made no mistake second time around as his curling right-foot shot from 20 yards found the net’s top corner.

Graham Rusk might have added a third in stoppage time but for the save of the night from Murphy.

Bohemians were much the better side in the first half. Aiden Downes flashed an early header wide from Anto Flood’s cross.

Bohs had the ball in the net on 19 minutes but Killian Brennan had strayed offside prior to heading home while Robert Bayly fired just wide after 26 minutes.

UCD: McGinley; Douglas, Leahy, Boyle, D. O’Connor; P. OConnor, Creevy (Marshall, 31), Corry, Meenan; Doyle (Belhout, 76 mins.), Rusk.

BOHEMIANS: Murphy; Rossiter (Lopez, h/t), O’Brien, Price, Cahill; Flood, Hurley (Fagan, 68 mins.), Cronin (Dixon, 49 mins.), Bayly, Brennan; Downes.

Referee: Damien Hancock (Dublin).