Derry City's remodelling job continued yesterday at Belfield Park, where, having been forced to trade around half of the team that won the league a couple of seasons ago, manager Felix Healy shuffled his remaining pack in an effort to revive a season that threatens to slip by as frustratingly as the last.
Liam Coyle's omission had been signalled, as had Peter Hutton's switch to the centre of defence. But Stuart Gauld's move to right back was, Healy was keen to point out, nothing new to the veteran after his spell down the road at Harps.
Other surprising positional changes included another run for Sean Hargan up front, where the absence through injury of Michael McHugh meant that Hargan was partnered by Floyd Gilmour.
The result, against a UCD side well used to each other at this stage, was promising enough through the early stages of a game which was, virtually from the off, open and evenly contested.
Derry pushed the ball around well and, said Healy afterwards, looked as hungry as he'd seen them for 18 months. Even after the students had taken the lead with their first move forward, Mick O'Byrne heading home after Eoin Bennis's shot had been blocked by David Platt, City appeared to on the verge of uncovering their old sparkle.
The second half produced much the better football but the determination of each side to get forward and create chances ensured that there was plenty to entertain the small crowd through the opening stages as well.
City pulled level through Eamon Doherty just short of the half-hour and then led thanks to Hargan's quick reactions after Paul Hegarty had driven against the post. But up to the half-time whistle there was next to nothing between the two sides, a point which Platt helped the students to illustrate by striking O'Byrne with a terrible clearance, an error which led to the home side's second goal.
Healy insisted that, at that point, his side had been "coasting" and "well on the way to winning" which, given that they held the lead for just three minutes, might have been pushing it slightly.
It also served to ignore the fact that, for the first 20 minutes of the second period, UCD were by far the better-looking side, with rightsided midfielder Ciaran Kavanagh providing the forward momentum and causing problems for Platt and his defence with a string of good quality crosses.
The 26-year-old was a little lucky to be still involved at that stage, having gotten away with a high challenge on Mickey Kelly while already on a booking, but his influence through that spell helped to ensure that, by the end, he was more sinned against than sinning, with Hargan, in particular, fortunate to be merely cautioned for a terrible challenge on him midway through the half.
Stuart Gauld might have gone too, after clearly striking Aidan Lynch in retaliation for the UCD skipper's late arrival, while Healy will probably find himself in some hot water as a result of an altercation with the fourth official during the course of which he pushed and verbally abused him.
All of which seemed part and parcel of the rediscovered passion which the City boss complained in the wake of last week's defeat by Bohemians was lacking. "That was the closest thing I've seen to the sort of play that won us the championship," remarked Healy, adding: "There was a hunger today that's been missing for a long time."
It didn't earn his side three points, however, and that may say as much about the progress that a rarely altered UCD team has been making quietly over the past few weeks as it does about the ground yet to be covered if things are to become really good again up at the Brandy well.
UCD: Ryan; Brett, Mahon, Delaney; McLoughlin, Kavanagh, Lynch, Dunne, O'Don nell; O'Byrne, Bennis.
Derry City: Platt; Gauld, Hutton, D Kelly, M Kelly; McCallion, Beckett, Hegarty, Doherty; Hargan, Gilmour. Subs: McCaul for Gilmour (63 mins), L Coyle for Hargan (84 mins).
Referee: P Whelan (Dublin).
