Winter has well and truly arrived, and it was in decidedly wintery conditions that Dublin University Association Football Club (DUAFC) lined out against Dunboyne in the Leinster Senior League on Sunday morning. After a string of defeats in recent weeks, DUAFC were in need of a confidence-boosting win, and they delivered one in emphatic fashion, comprehensively dispatching their hosts 5-2.
The cold weather meant a sluggish start for both teams, with goal chances at a premium. Dunboyne struck first, scoring from a free kick from the edge of the box directly in front of the goal. Trinity, though, did not let this early blow affect their mindset, and it didn’t take them long to restore parity. Clever passing between Brian O’Reilly and the ever-dangerous Niall Cullen created the space for the latter to burst free in the visitors’ box. With his final ball crucial, Cullen found captain and talisman Ronan Hanaphy in space, and the striker made no mistake.
DUAFC took charge of proceedings after the equaliser, but it took them until the beginning of the second half to find a second, Larry Mahon nodding home from a corner. Dunboyne retaliated with a goal of their own to level the game after some confusion in the Trinity defence, but from then on the game effectively belonged to DUAFC.
The away side’s midfield began to press high to support their attackers, a strategy that quickly proved effective. Jason Boateng, reading the game with characteristic perceptiveness, intercepted a Duboyne pass and played it in to Hanaphy’s feet. If alarm bells were ringing at this stage in the ranks of the hosts’ back four, then this proved justifiable. Hanaphy’s initial effort was saved, but Boateng, on the follow-up, was on hand to power home the rebound and give Trinity the advantage once again.
With the game still ostensibly in the balance, DUAFC kept the pressure on, monopolising possession as Hanaphy increasingly drifted to the wings to sow havoc in the Dunboyne defence. And it was from the flank that Hanaphy created the visitors’ fourth, slinking into a pocket of space on the right before slipping in Oisin Pennycook with a clever through ball. Through on goal, Pennycook made no mistake, outsmarting the keeper before tapping into an empty net.
After missing out on silverware on goal difference in last year’s Division 1B of the Leinster Senior League, DUAFC were not about rest on their laurels at 4-2, and rallied once again against an increasingly ragged Dunboyne defence. Pennycook turned provider for Trinity’s fifth, streaking past a flailing full-back on the left flank before laying off to Cullen at the most opportune of moments for the latter to slam the ball into the top corner.
Last season, DUAFC made an electric start to the season before slowing down in the winter months as surfaces turned heavier and defences became meaner. After two defeats at intercollegiate level and a 1-0 loss to Willow Park, Richie Maguire’s players would surely have been conscious of the fact that another defeat would not bode well for a season that had looked very positive until two weeks ago. On Sunday, however, they displayed skill and character in abundance, and securing a win, away from home, in such convincing fashion will do wonders for the squad as Christmas approaches.
