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University College Dublin A.F.C.
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University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club, known commonly as UCD, is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland First Division. Founded in 1895, the club was elected to the League of Ireland in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have played at the UCD Bowl, also home to the college's rugby team. 'The Students' play in bright sky blue and navy. Their reserve and freshers teams play in the Leinster Senior League. The current manager is Donegal native William O'Connor.
University College Dublin AFC was founded in 1895 as the Catholic University Medical School Football Club and began playing regular games the following year. A First XI played college games against other universities, and a Second XI entered outside competitions. The club was founder members of the Leinster Junior League in 1896 and reached the semi-finals of the Leinster Senior Cup in 1897. The club became University College Dublin AFC when the new university annexed the Medical School in 1908. UCD won the inaugural Intervarsities competition, the Collingwood Cup, in 1914 and added the Irish Intermediate Cup the following year, beating Portadown 2–1 in a replayed final. When the Irish Free State was formed in 1921 and the new Football Association of Ireland was formed, UCD participated in the FAI Cup preliminary round against fellow non-League team Shamrock Rovers, losing 6–2 in Windy Arbour. UCD were invited to join the League of Ireland in 1922, but had to turn it down on the basis of not being able to field a team in the League of Ireland Shield in September as the academic year didn't commence until October. In 1945, they won the FAI Intermediate Cup by beating fellow future League of Ireland members Cobh Ramblers 4–2 in the final. UCD appeared in the FAI Cup in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s; their final appearance as a non-League outfit came in 1957, when Cork Athletic beat UCD 4–2 in the Mardyke.
In 1970, the club was elected to the League of Ireland B Division. From 1976, they embarked on a series of landmark tours, becoming the first western football team to play in China, and following that with tours in places like India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Jordan, the Philippines, Macao, the United States, Sudan, Kenya, and Australia. A second invitation to join the League of Ireland was accepted on 22 July 1979, when Cork Celtic were expelled for not having their financial affairs in order. Their first competitive game as a senior club was on 26 August, when they lost 2–1 to Drogheda United in the FAI League Cup. Theo Dunne was appointed first team coach, and apart from a brief spell at Home Farm in 1990–1994, he was in charge of first team affairs until he retired as coach in 2001. Dr. Tony O'Neill, who was General Manager when the club joined the League, remained in that role until his untimely death from cancer in October 1999.
The club struggled initially in the league after their election, never finishing higher than twelfth in the 16-team league, although they did win the Leinster Senior Cup in December 1980, beating St Patrick's Athletic 2–1 in the final. However, important changes within the club in 1983 marked a dramatic upturn in fortunes. The previously amateur club turned semi-pro, and players outside of the college were allowed to represent the first team. This is still the situation today, although in practice most of the players are either students or ex-students. By the end of the 1983–84 season, UCD had won the FAI Cup, beating Shamrock Rovers 2–1 after a replay. Shamrock Rovers weren't to lose another game in the competition for over three years – until they lost to UCD in 1988.
That win saw UCD qualify for European competition – the European Cup Winners Cup – for the first time. The draw pitted them against Everton, then one of the leading sides in England and boasting players of the calibre of Neville Southall, Kevin Sheedy, Graeme Sharp, Peter Reid and Andy Gray. The home leg was played in Tolka Park and a crowd of 9,000 – many times UCD's average league crowd – saw the Students come away with a scarcely believable 0–0 draw. Another remarkable performance was to follow two weeks later, as a solitary Graeme Sharp goal gave Everton a 1–0 win. Joe Hanrahan skimmed the bar for the Students late on; had he scored, UCD would have progressed on away goals – as it was, Everton went on to win the entire competition and smashed several records in winning their nation's league title. UCD's performance was made all the more remarkable by the fact that, at the end of the year, Everton were voted the best club side in the world for 1985 by the managers of world national teams.
That season saw UCD finish fourth in the league, but they were then forced to release many of their best players due to financial difficulties. Joe Hanrahan signed for Manchester United for IR£30,000, Ken O'Doherty moved to Crystal Palace, and Alan O'Neill left for Dundalk. The team were relegated in 1985/86 with eight points, a record low in the Premier Division. Despite this, in 1987, UCD won the World Collegiate Championships in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Promotion in 1988–89 was followed by an immediate relegation, and it was 1994–95 before UCD were to return to the Premier. They did so by recording a then-record points tally for the First Division, also breaking the record for most goals scored and fewest goals conceded.
In 1999–00, a late burst saw UCD finish fourth in the league and qualify for the Intertoto Cup. Their opponents were the Bulgarian side PFC Velbazhd Kyustendil, who boasted a couple of full Bulgaria internationals, including Ilian Stoyanov, who would go on to represent his country in the 2004 European Championships. UCD kept up their proud European record with a pulsating 3–3 draw in the first leg in Belfield Park before drawing 0–0 in Bulgaria to bow out on away goals. History unfortunately repeated itself as the Students once again nearly sneaked victory as they hit the post late on.
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University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club, known commonly as UCD, is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland First Division. Founded in 1895, the club was elected to the League of Ireland in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have played at the UCD Bowl, also home to the college's rugby team. 'The Students' play in bright sky blue and navy. Their reserve and freshers teams play in the Leinster Senior League. The current manager is Donegal native William O'Connor.
University College Dublin AFC was founded in 1895 as the Catholic University Medical School Football Club and began playing regular games the following year. A First XI played college games against other universities, and a Second XI entered outside competitions. The club was founder members of the Leinster Junior League in 1896 and reached the semi-finals of the Leinster Senior Cup in 1897. The club became University College Dublin AFC when the new university annexed the Medical School in 1908. UCD won the inaugural Intervarsities competition, the Collingwood Cup, in 1914 and added the Irish Intermediate Cup the following year, beating Portadown 2–1 in a replayed final. When the Irish Free State was formed in 1921 and the new Football Association of Ireland was formed, UCD participated in the FAI Cup preliminary round against fellow non-League team Shamrock Rovers, losing 6–2 in Windy Arbour. UCD were invited to join the League of Ireland in 1922, but had to turn it down on the basis of not being able to field a team in the League of Ireland Shield in September as the academic year didn't commence until October. In 1945, they won the FAI Intermediate Cup by beating fellow future League of Ireland members Cobh Ramblers 4–2 in the final. UCD appeared in the FAI Cup in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s; their final appearance as a non-League outfit came in 1957, when Cork Athletic beat UCD 4–2 in the Mardyke.
In 1970, the club was elected to the League of Ireland B Division. From 1976, they embarked on a series of landmark tours, becoming the first western football team to play in China, and following that with tours in places like India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Jordan, the Philippines, Macao, the United States, Sudan, Kenya, and Australia. A second invitation to join the League of Ireland was accepted on 22 July 1979, when Cork Celtic were expelled for not having their financial affairs in order. Their first competitive game as a senior club was on 26 August, when they lost 2–1 to Drogheda United in the FAI League Cup. Theo Dunne was appointed first team coach, and apart from a brief spell at Home Farm in 1990–1994, he was in charge of first team affairs until he retired as coach in 2001. Dr. Tony O'Neill, who was General Manager when the club joined the League, remained in that role until his untimely death from cancer in October 1999.
The club struggled initially in the league after their election, never finishing higher than twelfth in the 16-team league, although they did win the Leinster Senior Cup in December 1980, beating St Patrick's Athletic 2–1 in the final. However, important changes within the club in 1983 marked a dramatic upturn in fortunes. The previously amateur club turned semi-pro, and players outside of the college were allowed to represent the first team. This is still the situation today, although in practice most of the players are either students or ex-students. By the end of the 1983–84 season, UCD had won the FAI Cup, beating Shamrock Rovers 2–1 after a replay. Shamrock Rovers weren't to lose another game in the competition for over three years – until they lost to UCD in 1988.
That win saw UCD qualify for European competition – the European Cup Winners Cup – for the first time. The draw pitted them against Everton, then one of the leading sides in England and boasting players of the calibre of Neville Southall, Kevin Sheedy, Graeme Sharp, Peter Reid and Andy Gray. The home leg was played in Tolka Park and a crowd of 9,000 – many times UCD's average league crowd – saw the Students come away with a scarcely believable 0–0 draw. Another remarkable performance was to follow two weeks later, as a solitary Graeme Sharp goal gave Everton a 1–0 win. Joe Hanrahan skimmed the bar for the Students late on; had he scored, UCD would have progressed on away goals – as it was, Everton went on to win the entire competition and smashed several records in winning their nation's league title. UCD's performance was made all the more remarkable by the fact that, at the end of the year, Everton were voted the best club side in the world for 1985 by the managers of world national teams.
That season saw UCD finish fourth in the league, but they were then forced to release many of their best players due to financial difficulties. Joe Hanrahan signed for Manchester United for IR£30,000, Ken O'Doherty moved to Crystal Palace, and Alan O'Neill left for Dundalk. The team were relegated in 1985/86 with eight points, a record low in the Premier Division. Despite this, in 1987, UCD won the World Collegiate Championships in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Promotion in 1988–89 was followed by an immediate relegation, and it was 1994–95 before UCD were to return to the Premier. They did so by recording a then-record points tally for the First Division, also breaking the record for most goals scored and fewest goals conceded.
In 1999–00, a late burst saw UCD finish fourth in the league and qualify for the Intertoto Cup. Their opponents were the Bulgarian side PFC Velbazhd Kyustendil, who boasted a couple of full Bulgaria internationals, including Ilian Stoyanov, who would go on to represent his country in the 2004 European Championships. UCD kept up their proud European record with a pulsating 3–3 draw in the first leg in Belfield Park before drawing 0–0 in Bulgaria to bow out on away goals. History unfortunately repeated itself as the Students once again nearly sneaked victory as they hit the post late on.