As the happy crowd cleared Belfield Park yesterday, so too - rather more slowly - did the faint air of disbelief amongst those who were left behind. Given this pair's recent form, Bohemians' win was scarcely a surprise; but how it came about . . . well, that was something else completely.
Bohemians dominated the first 30 minutes and would have led by much more than Glen Crowe's record-equalling, 17thsecond opener after it but for some fine goal-keeping from Barry Ryan.
By the end, however, Martin Moran was once again finding it hard to fathom how his players had scored three, led once and equalised with three minutes of normal time remaining, but still emerged from what was for the rest of us an enthralling game with nothing to help them in their increasingly nail-biting battle to avoid relegation.
It could have been worse. Trevor Molloy, for a start, had what looked a perfectly good penalty claim turned down in the 21st minute, and a highly questionable offside decision in injury time prevented Tony O'Connor from adding another late goal for the visitors and probably saved Ryan from a sending off.
The problem is that, as so often seems to be the case with the students these days, it might have been a good deal better too. Having done well to hold out early on in the face of some of Bohemians' best football of the season, Robert McAuley's 34th-minute headed equaliser, against the run of play, suggested that this could be an afternoon when they would enjoy some much needed and rather overdue good fortune.
They then led during the second period thanks to the first of Ciaran Martyn's two memorable goals, but then surrendered their game due to a series of terrible defensive blunders. The loss of Clive Delaney, who had started the game despite carrying an injury, was, said Moran afterwards, a turning point: Bohemians found the improvised central defensive partnership of McAuley and Alan Mahon much more to their liking.
He had a point, and Crowe certainly won't forget their generosity for a while. In fact, yesterday's hat-trick took his league tally for the season to 19, which is just five short of Jonathon Speak's record.
Alex Nesovic also had cause to be grateful for the quality of the marking when he rose entirely unhindered to head Molloy's chipped cross past Ryan and in off the post with nine minutes remaining.
But the problems weren't just at the back, for the home side gave the ball away far too easily in just about every area of the pitch and found themselves, too often late on, knocking it long to Derek Swan and then hoping he could hold it up, while heavily outnumbered, until support arrived.
Still, for those nine minutes it did seem that almost anything could happen with both goalkeepers being repeatedly threatened as the match swung rapidly from one end to the other.
That, of course, was one end more than Roddy Collins wanted involved at all, but having insisted that his first reaction to the game was to be "gutted that we conceded three goals", the Bohemians boss joked that, given his side's fine attacking and abysmal defensive play recently, "we should be charging £50 to see the sort of entertainment that we're giving people at the moment".
It certainly provides quite a contrast with Shelbourne's recent reversion to knocking out the results in what is, regularly enough, a pretty unattractive manner. Even after Friday's slip-up against Harps, though, Dermot Keely's side have a distinct advantage as the championship race moves into the home straight.
With a nine-point lead and a home advantage in the remaining meeting between the two rivals, Keely's probably happy enough to leave the entertaining to others.
UCD: Ryan; McLoughlin, Delaney (Mahon, 61 mins), McAuley, O'Donnell; Bennis (Quinn, 55 mins), Kavanagh, McDonnell, O'Mara; Martyn; Swan.
BOHEMIANS: Russell; O'Connor, Caffrey, Hill, Webb (Nesovic, 65 mins); Morrison, Hunt (O'Keeffe, 93 mins), Byrne, Rutherford; Crowe, Molloy.
Referee: J Feighery (Dublin).
