Dundalk moved up to second place in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division with a 3-1 win over UCD at Belfield on Monday. It was an open game, with both teams keeping the ball on the deck. College took the lead against the run of play through Y
Dundalk moved up to second place in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division with a 3-1 win over UCD at Belfield on Monday.
It was an open game, with both teams keeping the ball on the deck. College took the lead against the run of play through Yoyo Mahdy. But the visitor’s quality told, and they turned the game around with goals from Pat Hoban, Michael Duffy, and Georgie Kelly. Dundalk started brightly, with Duffy going close from the edge of the box.
Conor Kearns was nearly embarrassed when a back-pass from Gary O’Neill bobbled in front him. Thankfully for both skipper and keeper, the ball went wide of the post for a corner.
The Students took the lead in the 11th minute. It was basic in its execution, as a through ball from Conor Davis found Mahdy. He showed great composure to take a couple of touches, before finishing into the right corner.
But the visitors were level just four minutes later. Paul Doyle brought down Kelly as he cut into the penalty area from the right. Hoban made no mistake from the spot, as he equaled Joey Donnelly’s club scoring record, which stretches back to 1943.
Farrugia forced Rogers into a smart save at his near post, but Dundalk were seeing more of the ball. First, Hoban headed straight at Kearns, after great build up play on the left by Duffy. Then Chris Shields let fly from the edge of the box, after a poor clearance by Scales.
The UCD keeper pulled off a top drawer save to tip the effort around the post. The pressure told shortly after the break. McGrath played in Duffy, and he rounded Kearns, before finishing to the empty net.
It was a goal his performance deserved. UCD more than held their own after that, and they had plenty of possession. But they couldn’t force an equaliser, and Kelly wrapped up the points in stoppage time. Dundalk are now 7 points behind Shamrock Rovers, with the Dublin Derby to come tomorrow.
