ATHLONE TOWN 2 UCD 0 Athlone Town recorded their first competitive victory in 2014 last night when goals from Kealan Dillon and Seán Brennan gave them a 2-0 win over UCD at Lissywoollen.

Both sides started with just one striker and consequently the first half was a cagey affair with no clearcut chances until two minutes before the interval when Samir Belhout struck the crossbar and Tom O’Halloran had a shot excellently saved by Paul Skinner in a heart-stopping sequence of play. The home side came out of the dressingroom with renewed vigour and they got their reward in the 51st minute when Mark Hughes took control of a fast break out of defence and held off his direct opponent before lobbing the ball over Conor O’Donnell from the edge of the area.

Hughes’ lob fell back off the crossbar and Athlone midfielder Dillon was the first to reach the ball and tapped it home.

Athlone’s second was a similar close range strike, this time coming from right winger Brennan.

Alan Byrne directed a header towards goal from a corner kick but it looked as if O’Donnell fielded the ball with ease. However, he ran into his own defender and spilled possession, allowing Brennan to sneak in and score.

UCD pressed hard late on and peppered Paul Skinner's goal with shots from range, but they never succeeded in getting inside the Athlone back four and consequently the home side were able to hold on and record a crucial victory. ATHLONE TOWN: Skinner; Quigley (Harney 82), Prendergast, Alan Byrne, Clancy; Seán Byrne; Brennan (Gorman 87), Dillon, Hughes, Marks (Sweeney 76); Rusk. UCD: O'Donnell; Matthews, Douglas, Kavanagh, Langtry; Mulhall, Creevy, Benson, O'Halloran (Wilson 69); Burke (McCabe 73); Belhout. Referee: Ray Matthews