It’s 10 minutes after the final whistle and UCD’s Colm Whelan is still catching his breath. And it’s no surprise after playing his part in a pulsating five-goal thriller at Belfield that saw UCD come from 2-0 down against Treaty United to win 3-2 -
It’s 10 minutes after the final whistle and UCD’s Colm Whelan is still catching his breath.
And it’s no surprise after playing his part in a pulsating five-goal thriller at Belfield that saw UCD come from 2-0 down against Treaty United to win 3-2 - a win that put them on top of the First Division table.
For Whelan his team remain unbeaten while he leads the scoring charts. The 20-year-old striker has netted eight times in seven games this season including two hat-tricks.
“It’s the lads who do all the work. I’m just at the top end of the pitch and glad to get goals,” explains the UCD No. 10.
For someone who seems at home around the 18-yard-box, ‘at the top end of the pitch’ wasn’t where the Kilkenny-native found himself in his early years: “I used to play in midfield and then eventually I moved more forward. I played schoolboy football with Thomastown United and I was with them until Under-16s then went onto Waterford FC. I was there for four years and in that time we won the Under-19s league and then I moved to UCD.”
Since moving from the south-east to south Dublin, Whelan has been on fire and has already passed the 20-goal mark for UCD in a little over a year.
In his debut season at the club, he found the net 15 times which led to him being voted into the PFAI First Division Team of the Season for 2020.
On Friday, he claimed his third assist of the season taking his total goal involvements for 2021 to 11.
Whelan added: “It’s nice to be scoring and if I’m at that end of the pitch it’s what I have to do if the lads are working so hard.
“They have helped me settle in well, they’ve been great. I was able to get straight into the team and that was down to the way the players who were already here supported me.”
Not one for the spotlight, Whelan’s performance summed up the character of his UCD team - hardworking, technical, unselfish and spirited.
For all his goals, City Planning and Environmental Policy student’s talented displays are something League of Ireland fans have missed out on in the last 12 months or so.
With fans away from matches due to COVID-19, Whelan has notched most of his goals in empty arenas around Ireland. However, with the prospect of fans returning stadiums in the coming months it’s two fans in particular he’s looking to see in the stands as opposed to thousands.
“My parents for sure. I can’t wait for them to come back and watch matches,” said Whelan.
“It’s difficult because they’ve been at my games since I was little and then because of COVID they can’t come and watch you play. It will be good to be playing in front of them and in front of crowds, it’s what you dream of when you grow up.”
