SHELBOURNE - 0 UCD - 0A frustrating night for Shelbourne last night at Tolka Park as they failed to break down a battling UCD and instead had to settle for a share of the spoils.

However, with last night's late announcement from the National League that St Patrick's Athletic are to be deducted 15 points for the improper registration of Charles Mbabazi Livingstone, Shelbourne are left as champions; but, no doubt, the Inchicore club will appeal that ruling.

After last night's match Shelbourne skipper Eoin Heary said: "No one deserves to win the league title in this way, but a league medal is a league medal and 15 years down the line I will still have it, although I do feel sorry for the St Pat's players."

On the pitch, not for the first time this season, the Students, who had won here earlier in the campaign, made life difficult for Dermot Keely's side in a game with few clear-cut chances.

After a scrappy and disappointing opening 45 minutes, it didn't get much better after the break with the hosts having the only real glimpses of goal.

Late in the game they made a real push in search of the goal but could no find no way past UCD goalkeeper Barry Ryan, who made a string of quality saves.

In the final 15 minutes he pulled off four superb saves to deny Jim Crawford, Jim Gannon, Martin Gritton and Gannon again in stoppage time.

In the opening half, the best of the chances also fell to the home side, with Richie Baker breaking clear five minutes before the interval, but he squandered the opportunity by firing wide.

Before last night's match Shelbourne chief executive Ollie Byrne said his club would wait until tomorrow before making an official response to last night's deduction of St Patrick's points.

However, he did confirm that Shelbourne were playing against UCD "under protest". They had been led to believe that the league would make a quick ruling on the Livingstone situation and that it would have been made before last night's fixture.

SHELBOURNE: Williams; Heary, Minnock, McCarthy, Hutton, Prenderville, Crawford, Fenlon, B Byrne, Geoghegan, R Baker. Subs: Gannon for Minnock (60 mins), Gritton for Byrne (81 mins), Houlihan for Geoghegan (81 mins).

UCD: Ryan, Mahon, McAuley, Doolin, Delaney, Purdy, Quinn, McNally, R Martin, Martyn, O'Donnell. Subs: McDonnell for Purdy (half-time), Grogan for Martin (86 mins).

Referee: A Kelly (Cork).