UCD 1 Derry City 0: Newly promoted UCD grabbed only their second win in seven games back in the top flight when a sweetly struck 10th-minute goal by striker Robbie Martin gave them victory over Derry City at Belfield Park last night.

Despite enjoying a monopoly of the scoring chances, Derry could find no way past a resolute College side in which central defenders Conor Kenna and Alan McNally were outstanding.

After such an exciting start to the Premier Division season, when they went unbeaten in their opening five games, Stephen Kenny's team have thus suffered two defeats in a row, the Students adding to the misery of last week's 3-2 Brandywell defeat by Shamrock Rovers.

Derry suffered a blow early on when midfielder Kevin Deery was taken off on nine minutes with a recurrence of a knee injury after an accidental clash with Stephen Hurley.

And it got even worse for the Brandywell men just 60 seconds later when striker Martin collected a neat through ball from midfielder Hurley to cleverly shoot left-footed past advancing goalkeeper David Forde from eight yards.

Derry did go close to an equaliser on 33 minutes when Brian Cash shot into the side netting from a difficult angle on the right.

Then the heroics of Darren Quigley denied Derry another opening when he grabbed a header by Hutton on the line after a corner on the left by Alan Murphy. He then threw himself full length to deny Doherty in the dying minutes.

UCD: Quigley; Mahon (Lynch 45 mins), Kenna, McNally, O'Donnell; Anto Murphy, Hurley, McDonnell, McWalter (Adrian Murphy 89 mins); Martin (Gannon 79 mins), Dupuy.

DERRY CITY: Forde; McCallion, Delaney, Hutton, D Brennan (Hargan 65 mins); Cash, Martyn, Deery (Doherty 9 mins), K Brennan (Alan Murphy 39 mins); Beckett, Farren.

Referee: Paul Tuite (Dublin).