Their recent knack for second-half self-destruction almost cost them dear again but in the end a disputed 90th-minute penalty from Stephen Geoghegan was enough to give Dermot Keely's Shelbourne a much-needed victory at Belfield last night and so restore their six-point advantage at the top of the Premier Division table.
As the players left the pitch, though, the home side disputed referee Eddie Barr's penalty decision and the fact that he disallowed a Derek Swan goal six minutes from time.
Though the defeat of Finn Harps at Derry helped to keep UCD out of the automatic drop zone, the decisions could yet prove to be a key point in the club's increasingly shaky bid to survive relegation.
Swan appeared to be penalised for a push as he rose to head home Robert Martin's chipped cross from the left and while Shelbourne looked slightly fortunate to get the decision, their young striker, Richie Foran, must have been counting his blessings for he couldn't resist stretching out an arm in a failed attempt to prevent the ball crossing the line.
The home side looked strong enough by then to at least take the draw but, with only seconds of normal time remaining, Tony McCarthy's cross from the left was handled by Robert McAuley in the area and Geoghegan coolly put the spot kick away. UCD's players felt the ball struck the player, rather than the other way around.
For the hosts, badly in need of a lift last night, it was a terrible blow. While they may not have started well they gradually fought their way into the game and were just about edging the closing stages.
Ciaran Martyn could have had the locals in front within seconds of the game starting but his firmly-struck low drive from 25 yards flew just the wrong side of the left-hand post.
It was as close as the south-siders came to scoring during the first period. With Dessie Baker switching to the right wing in place of his younger brother Richie and Stephen Geoghegan coming in to partner Richie Foran up front, Shelbourne always looked to have sufficient attacking options to break down an increasingly fragile-looking UCD.
Both Baker and, on the other flank, James Keddy had profitable first periods while Paul Doolin and Pat Fenlon established a comfortable superiority in the centre. For all their possession, though, the league leaders created surprisingly few real scoring chances. Baker just missed the target with a header after 12 minutes while Keddy shot wide a the end of a swift passing move involving Stephen Geoghegan and Baker.
But Barry Ryan remained more or less untroubled until Keddy's 33rd minute cross from the left evaded the goalkeeper and was headed back across the face of the goal to where Fenlon headed a queue of Shelbourne players for the tap-in.
Almost as soon as they made the breakthrough Shelbourne's game started to loosen. UCD's John Martin, shortly before the break, and Ciaran Kavanagh, not long after it, tried their luck from long range, but both sent their efforts almost directly at Steve Williams.
Shelbourne clumsily conceded the equaliser in the 64th minute when Robert McAuley's long throw from the right wasn't cleared and Clive Delaney stepped in to hook the ball into the top left corner from the middle of a crowded box.
UCD: Ryan (Jennings, half-time); McNally (McLoughlin, half-time), Delaney, McAuley, O'Donnell; J Martin, Kavanagh, Martyn, O'Mara; Bennis (R Martin, 78 mins), Swan.
Shelbourne: Williams; Heary, Scully, McCarthy, D Geoghegan (Hutchison, 70 mins); D Baker (R Baker, 71 mins), Doolin (Crawford, 71 mins), Fenlon, Keddy; S Geoghegan, Foran.
Referee: E Barr (Dublin).
