Treaty United earn point away to UCD in First Division

TOMMY Barrett’s Treaty United were held to a 0-0 draw on the road to UCD at the Belfield Bowl in Friday evening’s SSE Airtricity League First Division fixture.

The result leaves the Shannonsiders in fourth place in the First Division table, eight points behind league leaders Dundalk, while the students remain bottom and winless in this campaign.

The swirling wind and rain in south Dublin coupled with the poor condition of the pitch in the UCD Bowl made conditions difficult for both sides. Treaty had the better of the few chances in the first half with Lee Devitt and Trpimir Vrljicak going close early on.

In the fourth minute, Devitt was slipped through one-on-one with the UCD goalkeeper Kian Moore but he was closed down before he could get his shot off.

Five minutes later, Moore fluffed a clearance which Vrljicak pounced on. The towering Croatian lobbed the helpless Moore but Niall Honohan cleared the ball to safety.

Devitt then tried his luck with a free kick in the 25th minute before Vrljicak tried to capitalise on another Moore error moments later.

The UCD goalkeeper again scuffed an attempted clearance but Vrljicak’s effort from a tight angle went narrowly wide.

The best chance of the half went to the home side in the thirty-fourth minute as Killian Cailloce dribbled his way into the Treaty penalty area before unleashing a powerful shot that was parried out by Corey Chambers.

The second half was a dull affair as both sides grappled with the playing conditions. Vrljicak had the second period's opening effort, coming in the 64th minute but his shot was straight at Moore.

Two minutes later Karl O’Sullivan blasted his effort wide.

In the 74th minute, UCDs Jake Doyle controlled the ball well before unleashing a shot goalward but his effort was straight at Chambers.

Three minutes later, UCD looked destined to score as Doyle picked up possession at the far post. His shot looked like a certain goal but Evan O’Connor got back to make a heroic block to keep the game scoreless.

Richkov Boevi and Yoyo Mahdy both had half chances late in the game before UCD almost snatched victory right at the death.

Sean Brennan was played clear through on goal and appeared to be fouled by O’Connor in the box but referee Robert Dowling waved play on as the game ended scoreless.

Next up for Treaty United is a trip to the Midlands as they take on second-from-bottom Longford Town on Saturday evening next, March 29 at Bishopsgate, 7.30pm.

Meanwhile, the students will hope to get their first win of the season when they travel to Mounthawk Park in Tralee to play Kerry.

UCD: Kian Moore, Ciaran Behan (Adam Brennan 60), Sean Brennan, Killian Cailloce (Mickey Raggett 85), Éanna Clancy, Jake Doyle, Ronan Finn (Colin Bolton 21), Niall Holohan, Brian McManus, Adam Verdon (Luke O’Regan 61), Adam Wells.

TREATY UNITED: Corey Chambers, Richkov Boevi, Mark Byrne (Joseph Hanson 67), Colin Conroy (Steven Healy 79), Lee Devitt, Ben Lynch (Ben Lee 72), Robbie Lynch, Eoin Martin, Evan O’Connor, Karl O’Sullivan, Trpimir Vrljicak (Yoyo Mahdy 79).

REFEREE: Robert Dowling.