UCD won their third game on the spin as they extended their lead at the top of the First Division to four points on Friday night. The Students dominated proceedings against Wexford, particularly in the first-half, but they found themselves holding
UCD won their third game on the spin as they extended their lead at the top of the First Division to four points on Friday night. The Students dominated proceedings against Wexford, particularly in the first-half, but they found themselves holding on for a 3-2 victory in the end. Manager Collie O'Neill tells our reporter Peter Branigan that they're in a good position with a third of the season gone. "It's going well, that's more or less the first round of games done, but there's a long way to go. We are where we want to be." The Students burst out of the blocks, and they had the lead in the fourth minute after Daire O'Connor set up Greg Sloggett. The winger played an even more central role in their second goal, as he beat a couple of Wexford players, and might have taken a shot himself. Instead, he laid the ball off to Georgie Kelly to score his ninth league goal of the season. Wexford were then given a lifeline after some good perseverance by Aaron Dobbs. He nearly stole the ball from both Josh Collins and Conor Kearns in the UCD goal, as both tried to be too clever inside their own box. Dobbs had the last laugh though, as moments later he burst into the box, was brought down by Collins, and then blasted his penalty past Kearns. "They never should have gotten that foothold in the game," according to O'Neill. "We should have put the ball into row Z, and it was a case of sloppy play. "It keeps happening to us, that we don't think that we have to keep working hard, and then we get a slap in the jaw. We only scraped through in the end. We play some nice football, but we sometimes defend too nicely as well." It's a theme of O'Neill's assessments of his own team's performances this season that they've lacked a cutting edge. Despite their lead at the top of the table, he maintains that they are capable of more "We weren't ruthless enough tonight, and it nearly cost us. When we injected pace into the attack, we seemed to cause them trouble. But for the majority of the game, we were too slow, and too safe." There was mixed news on the injury front for the College manager, as Maxim Kouogun came off at half-time. There was a welcome first appearance of the season for Evan Osam late on. "Maxi's been carrying an ankle injury for a few weeks, and he was heavily strapped before the game. He got a kick in the first-half, and with us 3-1 ahead at the break, I just didn't think it was worth the risk. "It's good to get Evan back on the pitch. He's done an awful lot of rehab over the last few weeks. So it's good for him. "For me, it's competition for places. If anyone thinks it's going to be easy, that they can go down the gears and keep their spot, it ain't going to happen. And Neil Farrugia isn't far off coming back into the squad either." UCD face Shelbourne next weekend, and the O'Neill is expecting a backlash from Owen Heary's side, who've slipped from top of the table to five points behind since last weekend. Between now and then, College host Longford in the Leinster Senior Cup. O'Neill says it's a chance for players to impress him. "Our priority is to win the league, but Tuesday is a chance for other players to put their stake down for a starting spot. "Darragh Corcoran, Evan Osam, Conor Crowley, Ben Hanrahan, and Yoyo Mahdy will all start."
