Longford Town take on UCD at Belfield in a confident frame of mind

Longford Town take on UCD on Friday night when they visit Belfield for the first time this season, kick-off 7.45pm.

 UCD,  now being managed by William O’Connor, are a formidable outfit with many top class young players and they also have Ronan Finn who has Longford connections.

Finn has a wealth of experience having played with the best during his time with Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk.

Manager O’Connor will be hoping to better last season’s league position when they finished second and in the play-off position. They currently lie in 6th place and only two points outside the play off position of 5th which is currently in the hands of Wexford FC. 

We all know that UCD teams over the years were so hard to beat due to the fact that many young aspiring players join the club on football scholarships and it works well for up and coming players who also want to make a career for themselves. 

Over the years UCD have produced some top class players with many of them eventually ending up cross channel.

Liam Scales joined Shamrock Rovers from UCD and then transferred to Glasgow Celtic with whom he could win a treble in Scotland which is a fantastic achievement for any young Irish lad who wants to make a career for himself in professional soccer. 

UCD joined the League of Ireland in 1979 under the management of the late Dr Tony O’Neill who was one of the best legislators in the league since it was formed. Since joining the league the students won the FAI Cup in the 1983-84 season, they also won the FAI Super Cup in the 2000-2001 season. 

UCD also won the First Division title on three occasions 1994-95, 2009 and 2018 season. Like many teams at the wrong end of the Premier Division they were up and down the divisions over the years. 

The club and the campus at Belfield are a tribute to Tony O'Neill and the current committee are to be congratulated for their work in keeping UCD in the top of Irish soccer.

 One player who will be well known to Town supporters is Adam Verdon who along with his brother Sam played for the Town some years ago. 

Striker Jake Doyle is one of the best up and coming players in the First Division while defender Eanna Clancy is from Leitrim and he came through the ranks at Sligo Rovers having played for their under 15s and under 17s. 

Keeper Kian Moore is one of the best around and striker Michael Raggett is lethal as he proved in the last meeting between the clubs at Bishopsgate back in April when he came off the bench and scored a fine header after 67 minutes.

 Looking back at that game there is no doubt that the Town deserved at least a share of the points but poor finishing let us down on that occasion.

 The first meeting this season ended with the 1-0 victory for the college team but hopefully that result isn’t going to set a trend for us this season.

Last season the teams met four times, UCD won three and the other game ended in a draw. 

The first meeting between the clubs took place at the end of March with goals from Jake Doyle and Michael Raggett while young Emmanuel James scored late for the Town but UCD held out to collect three valuable points.

 UCD won the next game 1-0 with Jake Doyle on the scoresheet again.

The third meeting in Bishopsgate was at the end of July and on this occasion they also won by the odd goal in a 2-1 victory. Bastien Hery gave Town the lead while Michael Raggett and Adam Wells scored for UCD. 

The final game was played in Belfield and this game ended 2-2. Oisin Hand and Emmanuel James again were on the scoresheet for the Town while Parker and McCullagh replied for the students. 

There is no doubt that the current squad of Longford players are capable of competing with most clubs in the division. 

The two Town goals in the 2-1 win over Wexford last Saturday night were of high calibre and Emmanuel James showed that he is a major threat in front of goal and supporters are wondering why the former Melview schoolboy isn’t getting in from the start. 

Let’s hope that the team will carry on from the game against Wexford and get a good result in Belfield. 

There was a very disappointing attendance on Saturday night last for the clash against Wexford and we hope that a large crowd will come to Bishopsgate for the visit of Finn Harps on Saturday week.

Aaron Walsh will be available for selection on Friday against UCD after missing the Wexford game through suspension. 

Thanks to the supporters for being behind the team and we expect a good travelling support in Belfield.