"Happy Enough," were the first words to trip from Dave Barry's mouth. The Cork City manager found it difficult to hide his satisfaction at taking a point away from Belfield - a result that his side scarcely deserved on the balance of play and chances created.
UCD's failure in front of goal continued to torment them yesterday. Strikers Mick O'Byrne and Jason Sherlock provided the loyal crowd with their, by now, expected repertoire of nifty footwork and slide-rule passes. The entertainment level was commendable, the finishing radically less noteworthy.
Cork had an advantage in height and physique that was not wasted on the UCD defence. The big men from the back came forward when set-piece opportunities allowed, but they were met with stern resistance, particularly from the impenetrable Aidan Lynch.
The ball zipped around on the pitch and with conditions causing difficulties, Cork's more powerful midfield made an impact. Patsy Freyne held the centre, with Ollie Cahill and top scorer Colin O'Brien always available on the left and right, respectively.
In the 22nd minute, John Caulfield could not dig the ball out from under his feet when left alone six yards out from Noel Hartigan's cross and when Ollie Cahill's free from the left wing was headed towards the top corner by Freyne, Seamus Kelly had to scramble the ball over from underneath the crossbar.
Caulfield smashed a 30-yard drive off the outside of Kelly's upright soon after and the students would have been pleased to get to the break without conceding a goal. Not that they were overrun. They shared the possession without threatening the Cork goal.
This all changed after the interval. As Cork City pushed on in search of the elusive goal, they left gaps at the back - gaps that only got bigger as the game wore on and players began to suffer from fatigue. This suited the quickbreaking students, especially Sherlock. The move of the game, on 55 minutes, triggered the spectators and players into a higher gear. The diminutive Ciaran Kavanagh sprayed the ball wide to the right for John Martin. He slipped it inside to right back Damien Bolger and a slick one-two with Sherlock released Bolger deep into the box where he hammered a shot off the inside of Noel Mooney's post. It was a breathtaking move. And one that seemed to unnerve the City defence.
The near misses continued. O'Byrne feigned to pass inside before dribbling along the City endline and placing his shot outside Mooney's right-hand post. Sherlock beat the offside trap, only to be foiled by Mooney's outstretched legs. Robert Griffin and Kavanagh were denied by the ever-alert goalkeeper.
It was one of those evenings and Noel King knew it. "Both sides found the conditions very difficult and we are disappointed that we didn't take the three points. However, we have to look forward to the rest of the season because there is still so much to play for."
