Dundalk and UCD shared the points in a lively but scrappy game at Oriel Park last night. There were some good individual skills on display, but quite frankly both sides will have to improve a lot if they hope to rise out of the bottom half of the table.

One player to catch the eye was Tony McDonald of UCD, and of course Jason Sherlock always looked dangerous but lacked support up front.

UCD started the stronger and took a deserved lead after a good Sherlock run set up Michael O'Donnell, whose shot was deflected and ran to Eoin Bennis who scored from about 10 yards.

Dundalk replied quickly when Peter Withnell broke down the left and crossed for Brian Byrne to run into the area and place the ball under the body of the diving Seamus Kelly.

Play tended to become very scrappy in the second period, but David Hoey was unlucky when heading just over the bar, and the best chance of the game fell to the home side 11 minutes from the end when, after good work by Hoey and Byrne, Withnell fluffed his shot with a goal at his mercy.

Dundalk: Williams, McNulty, Crawley, Doohan, Reddish, Melvin, Carlysle, Hoey, Withnell and Byrne.

UCD: Kelly, McLaughlin, McCauley, Lynch, McDonnell, Griffin, Kavanagh, Bennis, Sherlock, O'Byrne, O'Donnell.

Referee: M Tomney (Dublin)