Arklow friends win First Division title
DAIRE O’CONNOR experienced the best moment of his life on Friday night as his
UCD side clinched the League of Ireland First Division title.
O’Connor, alongside fellow
Arklow native Liam Scales, who have known each other since before they were teenagers, fulfilled a lifelong dream together at the weekend as they scooped one of the biggest prizes on offer in
Irish football.
UCD have been the pace-setters all season and their capture of the throne has looked inevitable for some time now but it was finally realised on Friday. The Students didn’t make it easy for themselves though as they fell behind late on to Finn
Harps but an immediate leveller was enough to seal the deal - after an agonising wait for the final whistle.
“We’ve been talking about it since June really and how close we were”, O’Connor recalled. “Behind closed doors we were confident that we were going to win it but we were seven points clear at the break and it just seemed to drag on forever. It seemed so far to go and when that Harps goal went in, I think everyone’s heart just sank. We though that was it. Forty five seconds later we had the ball in the back of the net and it was the longest 10 minutes of my life. When that whistle went, it was the greatest feeling I’ve ever had in my life.”
There were a number of sides believed to be in contention for the crown at the start of the season but UCD boss Collie O’Neill always felt it was there for the taking for the Students and it didn’t take long for O’Connor, Scales and co. to fall into his line of thinking.
“Collie pulled us in on day one for a meeting and he said the goal was to win the league. Whether all of us believed it was possible or not at the time; it’s undetermined but after the first two or three games we realised that we could put it up to any team in the league.
“We all had a great off-season and so we came into the league confident and the momentum just kept going and it never seemed to stop.
“After the first round of games, people were talking about us saying that we’d fall away in the summer but thankfully we pulled through. The momentum kept us going and I think we’re unbeaten now since the start of July. We really did deserve it in the end.”
Both Scales and O’Connor have been key figures for O’Neill’s side with the latter also chipping in with some key goals and assists.
“It’s the first year really where I’ve cracked on. I played in every single league game and started 25 out of 27 games so I can’t really ask for much more. I scored five goals and set up 11 so I’m personally happy with that.
“One of our biggest wins of the season according to everyone was Finn Harps when we beat them 1-3 and I scored two goals in that game. It was so great to be a part of every game.”
O’Connor is listed as a midfielder but if you see him play, you’ll notice he is far from a traditional midfielder so what exactly is his role?
“Good question! I’m a no.10 - that’s my favourite position just behind the striker. I like to run with the ball and take risks. I will lose the ball sometimes but that’s sort of my job; it’s my job to try the risky pass so I might be losing the ball the most but I’ll be creating the most at the same time.
“It’s a tough balance! I’d base my game on attacking, attacking, attacking. It’s my first instinct when I get the ball to go forward. Collie has put his faith in me because he thinks I’ll be worth the risks.”
One man that Collie would prefer not to be taking risks is Liam Scales. The towering defender, who only turned 20 in August, is one of the best there is according to his club-mate O’Connor and he is far from a no-nonsense hoof-the-ball-and-ask-questions-later kind of defender.
“When I first got to know him, he was a lanky left winger who converted to a no. 10 and then played left-back but it’s only since he’s starting playing centre-back that he’s really pushed on.
“Physically he’s developed a lot and in the last two years playing first-team football has made him the best centre-half in the league I think. He’s just so solid. He has a brain and he can read the game so well but at the same time, he has technical excellence which came from him playing left wing.
“There’s times that he’ll pull off mad skills in games which are unheard of from centre-halves so he’s the whole package. Everyone in the team would probably agree that he’s up there with the best in the league and that’s in the Premier Division as well.”
They may have league winners medals in their back pockets but they also still have a chance of FAI Cup glory.
The one-time winners face Dundalk on Friday, September 28, in the semi-final and it will be televised live on RTE.