Quigley's late saves keep UCD hopes alive

SOCCER/FAI Cup, quarter-finals/UCD - 0 Drogheda Utd - 0: Two fine late saves by Darren Quigley at Belfield Park last night kept UCD in this year's FAI Cup. However, the home side may come to regret not getting more out of a game they had the better of for long stretches when they take on Paul Doolin's side in Monday night's replay at United Park.

For most of the evening it was closely-fought stuff with the students just about edging matters. Through the closing quarter of an hour, though, the balance of the contest shifted dramatically as United raised the pace of their game and created a succession of scoring opportunities.

The best of these fell to Barry Molloy and Mark Rooney but Quigley saved well from the former and quite brilliantly from the latter with just a couple of minutes left to play.

Their league placing might have suggested Drogheda would be confident about booking a place in the semi-finals for the first time since 1978 but their record at Belfield, just one win in 23 previous visits, must have made the option of taking the tie back to United Park rather an attractive option.

Few of the current crop, of course, would remember back beyond last season's couple of single-goal defeats here but Drogheda, given the strength of the some of their performances in recent months, still played as if they were slightly inhibited.

UCD's defeat of Cork City in the second round certainly showed that they are capable of overcoming strong Premier Division opposition on home turf when the mood takes them and there was plenty of confidence about their football during the first half.

In defence they looked consistently solid under pressure while even without the experience of the injured Tony McDonnell in midfield, where Gary Dicker started, their passing was impressive.

Drogheda got themselves into trouble far too often by giving the ball away in midfield. John Lester did battle hard to disrupt the locals in the centre but after an early booking, for a clash with Sean Finn, a little of the bite went out of the former under-21 international's game.

Behind him Stephen Gray and Danny O'Connor, though not always the most convincing, were rarely tested with the result the game produced almost nothing by way of excitement around either goal.

For all their possession in the opening half the closest UCD came to making a breakthrough was on 30 minutes when O'Connor's error allowed Robbie Martin to break into the area but John Flanagan's covering tackle ensured the shot was deflected harmlessly away to the right.

Finn narrowly missed the target from almost 35 metres out and Robert McAuley reckoned he had a strong penalty claim when he went over inside the area under pressure from Flanagan. After he had persisted in berating referee Alan Kelly for not pointing to the spot he ended up getting a yellow card.

It was in the early stages of the second period, however, that Pete Mahon's UCD side should have made their breakthrough. As they managed to get some bodies forward from midfield, Drogheda looked vulnerable around their own area and when goalkeeper Gary Rogers blundered while under pressure from Martin, Willie Doyle, normally so reliable, should have slipped the ball into the bottom left corner.

It may yet prove a costly miss but the striker's blushes were spared thanks largely to the efforts of Quigley and the UCD back four who had to defend at a ferocious pace late on as Drogheda began to sense it just might be their night after all.

Andy Myler, like Rooney a former UCD player, might have pinched it for Doolin's men 12 minutes from time. Gray's long ball found Gavin Whelan in space down the right and the midfielder picked out Myler with an angled cross to the just short of the near post. Despite doing well to control the ball and turn his marker Myler's shot was far too high to test Quigley.

By then, however, the goalkeeper had already made one excellent diving save from Molloy. However, it was the stop from Rooney as he scrambled back towards his line that will be remembered for if UCD can somehow upset the league title contenders on Monday and make this the club's best run in the cup since they won the competition two decades ago.

UCD: Quigley; Mahon (McWalter, 23 mins), Kenna, McNally, McAuley; Sullivan, Dicker, Finn, O'Donnell; Doyle (Kierins, 76 mins), Martin.

DROGHEDA UNITED: Rogers; Flanagan, O'Connor, Gray, Sandvliet; Whelan, Molloy, Lester, Cronin (Reilly, 65 mins); O'Brien, Bird (Myler, 54 mins, Rooney 85 mins).

Referee: A Kelly (Cork).