Shamrock Rovers - 1 UCD - 0 Liam Kelly headed an early winner as Shamrock Rovers were made to work hard for their first victory of the season against a UCD side for whom little is going right.
Rovers move up to third place overnight while College remain goalless and bottom of the table without a point.
In keeping with their tradition, both sides played football from the off, with Rovers the main beneficiaries, taking the lead with their first real passing move on nine minutes but then failing to add to it in a rather one-sided first half.
The goal was well worked as Rovers stretched their visitors' defence. A precise diagonal ball wide right by Alan Reynolds picked out Shane Robinson in space and the winger's well flighted cross was bravely headed home by Liam Kelly - his first goal in a Rovers shirt since joining from St Patrick's Athletic.
Good going forward, as we've come to expect, Rovers showed their defensive attributes shortly afterwards to deprive UCD of an equaliser.
Darragh Ryan swept the ball down his left flank for Mick O'Donnell to cross. But James Keddy, one of four ex-UCD players in the Rovers team, got a vital touch to toepoke the ball off the feet of Gavin Whelan.
It was virtually all Rovers thereafter until the break, with Stephen Grant and Robinson threatening down the flanks and the trickery of Trevor Molloy a constant for the UCD defence to deal with.
Grant shot over when he ought to have found the target before Robinson was guilty of taking his eye off the ball after Patrick Jennings, watched by his legendary father, Pat senior, allowed a cross from Molloy fly past him. The relief came from Robinson miscuing his shot with the goal gaping.
Reynolds then set up Grant, who volleyed recklessly over before Jennings redeemed himself by holding a difficult low shot from Molloy five minutes before the break.
A long throw from Robert McAuley almost caught out Rovers at the end of the half when UCD captain Tony McDonnell headed wide, seconds before he was booked for a tackle on Robinson.
UCD were well in it in the second half, though scoring chances were few at both ends.
Seán Finn came closest to an equaliser eight minutes in when firing a foot wide of Ryan's left-hand post from a 30-yard free kick.
Jennings then made the save of the match to keep UCD in it on 70 minutes, diving acrobatically to his left to turn Colwell's shot wide.
Rovers lived dangerously late on and almost paid in stoppage time; substitutes Alan Cawley and Alan Gallen combining for the latter to head over the crossbar.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Ryan, Gough, Palmer, Byrne, Keddy, Robinson, Colwell, Reynolds (Tracey 57 mins), S Grant, Molloy (A Grant 86 mins), Kelly (Doyle 79 mins).
UCD: Jennings, Sullivan, McNally, McAuley, Ryan, J Martin, McDonnell, Whelan (Cawley 65 mins), O'Donnell (Davey 79 mins), Griffin, Finn (Gallen 72 mins).
Referee: P McKeon (Dublin)
