SHAMROCK ROVERS all but secured their Premier Division status for next season with the point that [should be sufficient to do so in a frustrating scoreless draw at Tolka Park last night. But Rovers will curse the brilliance of UCD goalkeeper Seamus Kelly, who deprived them of a well deserved win and certain survival.
Rovers, not surprisingly took the game to a very youthful UCD, whose average age, including three teenagers, was 21.
The home team might have saved themselves some nervous moments later on if Sean Francis had connected cleanly with Tony Cousins's cross in just the second minute, but his faintly sliced effort trickled wide.
UCD were never going to make it easy, and Robert Griffin almost added to his four goats in the previous three games, but headed wide from debutant Robert McAuley's sixth minute cross.
Rovers got well on top midway through the first half and might have scored twice inside five minutes. UCD goalkeeper Kelly prevented a certain goal on 19 minutes when he dived low to his right to brilliantly turn a Pat Fenton free kick round a post with one hand. Cousins, named Rovers's player of the year before the game, then cleverly set up Francis again, but his curling shot was a foot wide of Kelly's right hand post.
Rovers continued to press well in the second half and Aidan Lynch made a brave saving header to deprive Cousins within five minutes of the restart.
But they then had to survive a scare when Eamonn McLoughlin's first time right footed drive from 25 yards flashed inches wide of a post at the other end a minute later.
Kelly had Rovers tearing out their hair in the 59th minute when he again thwarted Fenton in the 59th minute, spreading himself superbly to save with his feet after Derek Tracey played Fenton through.
A frustrating night for Shamrock Rovers, but ultimately the point should be enough.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)