UCD retain Collingwood with victory over UCC Barry Aldworth
2013 has proven to be a bumper year for UCC soccer and a great run in the 2013 Collingwood Cup came so close to being almost perfect.While speaking to Greg Yelverton the day after the final loss to UCD he wanted to highlight the dedication which the players and managers had shown throughout the year. With a new focus on conditioning and skill training this year’s UCC squad entered the 2013 Collingwood Cup in better shape than ever before.UCC’s opening match of the competition set the tone for a series of tight matches which would involve the Cork team. After 90 minutes, the round one match against NUI Galway finished scoreless forcing the teams to play an extra 30 minutes. Two Steve Mahon penalties proved to be the difference as the match finished 2-1 to UCC after 120 hotly contested minutes.The quarter-final against Queen’s University Belfast proved to be the only match in which UCC was afforded any small amount of breathing room. Goals from Mahon, Eoin Kilcommons (2), Josh O’Shea and Ian Mylod secured a comfortable 5-0 win and set up UCC’s first meeting with a Dublin team.UCC’s path to the final was blocked by a DCU side, which UCC got on top of early on before DCU fought their way back into the game. Despite a great effort by both teams, this game was dominated by poor refereeing and worse pitch conditions. It was these conditions which prevented any clear cut chances in the second half and the match was ultimately decided with a disputed penalty call against DCU defender Rory Dunleavy after 74 minutes, which Mahon yet again converted.Playing their 4th game in as many days, UCC went head to head with defending champions and old rivals UCD in the Collingwood Cup decider. The final against UCD proved to be a similarly tight affair with the final score being 1-0 in favour of the Dubliners. Games this tight are usually decided by one mistake, one misplaced pass or one flash of brilliance and unfortunately for UCC the mistake came from their side.Having played one more game than the defending champions, fatigue began to set in and the mistake eventually came. After 70 scoreless minutes, UCD’s David McMillen latched onto a wayward pass to score the game’s only goal from just outside the UCC penalty area. While UCD could have put the result beyond doubt with a late penalty, the 1-0 scoreline proved to be a fair reflection of just how hotly contested this game was.It has been said in many sports across the world that good defence is what wins championships. This belief was proven to be true by a great UCD defence which managed to keep UCC’s dangerous forward partnership of Josh O’Shea and Simon Holland under control for most of the game. On a day when they were outplayed (albeit only marginally), it was always going to be difficult for UCC to come back against a UCD team who will seek to complete a three in a row run of Collingwood victories when the tournament is held in their home grounds next year.It was once said that “sport does not build character, it reveals it” and nothing could be more true about this year’s UCC team. Greg Yelverton praised manager John Caulfield in particular for the dedication and passion which he brought to the job.While the Collingwood Cup won’t be making its way to Cork this year, there will be another chance in 12 months’ time and the players who will be there next year would love nothing more than to end any hopes UCD have of completing its treble in the centenary year of the competition.UCC will have a few more chances to pick up some silverware before the season draws to an end and the team loses some key players including talismanic forward Josh O’Shea. Greg Yelverton classed this as the nature of the beast that is college soccer as unfortunately you can’t keep your players forever. However the dedication shown by this year’s team and managers has now put UCC’s name on the college soccer map. With a growing reputation comes increased recruiting power and it looks likely that UCC is set to seriously contend in major tournaments like this for years to come.UCC team vs UCD: Michael Dorgan; A Gannon, J O’Brien, A Neville, C Barry; C O’Callaghan (L Connolly ht), S Mahon, H O’Donovan, E Kilcommons (P Lawless 66); J O’Shea, S Holland. Unused: C Hill, D Murphy, D McNamara, I Mylod, R Price.UCD: M McGinley; M Langtry, T Boyle, D O’Connor, N Wright; M Whelan, R Benson, N Hanley, R Belhout; C Morrison (B O’Brolchain 53), D McMillen. Unused: R McLoughlin, T Dent, R Murray, M Leahy, J Kelly, B McDonald.