Dave O'Connor Column: Hail the UCD Class of '09

Saturday 19^thSeptember 2009. 512 hard-core League of Ireland supporters passed through the gates of a rain sodden, blustery Finn Park to attend a First Division game between Finn Harps and UCD.

The game itself may not have lived long in the memory of the home fans that evening, however the 3 points secured by UCD would prove to be vital in The Students title winning First Division season of 2009.

Among the goal-scorers in UCD’s 5-0 win that day were three eager, talented, fresh-faced 21-year-olds who were just beginning their careers in the League of Ireland. Ronan Finn, Dave McMillan and Ciaran Kilduff all got their names on the scoresheet that night for Martin Russell’s side. Not household names at the time, even to the most die-hard of League of Ireland supporters.

Fast-forward almost 7 years to the day (6 years, 11 months and 28 days to be precise!) and those same 3 men found themselves warming up together on the pristine, carpet-like surface of the sun-drenched AFAS Stadium, Alkmaar.

What awaited them was 90 minutes against Dutch Eredivsie side AZ Alkmaar in the first game of the Europa League group stages. What happened next has been well documented in the media over the last week.

McMillian and Finn both started the game and, as we all know, Kilduff was sprung from the bench to net an historic late equalizer for Dundalk. The nine minutes of additional time which followed Kilduff’s goal required real ‘backs-to-the-wall’ defending from the ten-man Dundalk team.

As AZ piled forward in search of late winner, a series of heroic blocks, clearances and headers from the Dundalk rearguard ensured that Lilywhites held on to claim a deserved draw on the night.

One man in particular who epitomised this heroic defending was one Andy Boyle – a tower at the back for Dundalk on the night and a player who has emerged in recent years as one the best defenders in the League of Ireland.

It's probably a good time for me to mention that Andy was also a member of the UCD back four which kept Finn Harps scoreless seven years ago!

Dundalk’s draw represented the first ever point earned by League of Ireland team in the group stages of any of Europe’s elite club competitions – an incredible achievement and one which must not be understated. Huge credit must go to Stephen Kenny and the whole Dundalk squad for such a brilliant result.

However, perhaps just as much credit must also go to the UCD class of '09. The UCD quartet of Boyle, Finn, McMillan and Kilduff formed the back-bone of UCD’s First Division title-winning side of '09 and today have emerged as integral players in this history-making Dundalk side.

How many members of the 512 in attendance in Finn Park all those years ago would have guessed that?

This is the first in a weekly series of articles from current Shamrock Rovers and former UCD defender Dave O'Connor.