UCD 1 Shamrock Rovers 2: Shamrock Rovers retained their Airtricity League Premier Division title thanks to Dean Kelly's injury-time winner over UCD at the Belfield Bowl, while at Tolka Park Shelbourne guaranteed their return to the top flight with a 4-0 win over Finn Harps.
Kelly pounced in the 94th minute after the opener from Ken Oman was cancelled out three minutes later by Robbie Benson.
The dramatic win, in which both sides had a player sent off, gives Rovers an unassailable four-point lead over Sligo Rovers with one game to go.
"Great credit to the players for winning it tonight," O'Neill told Newstalk's Off The Ballafter the game.
He added: "The players are enjoying it and they deserve the recognition they are getting. I thought last season they didn't get the recognition they deserved."
Asked about his own contribution after both subs produced the crucial goals, he said: "Well, you get the blame when things go bad, so maybe I'll get a take a bit of the credit tonight."
O'Neill certainly deserves plaudits, after Craig Sives's dismissal for a second yellow card in the 47th minute, threw is plans into disarray.
His response was to remove Ciaran Kilduff and bring on Oman, who gave Rovers the lead 20 minutes later with a thunderous header.
The celebrations by the expectant visiting fans were cut short, however, when Benson's effort from Darren Meenan's free-kick crossed the line despite the best efforts of the Rovers defence.
Meenan was then harshly dismissed with 10 minutes to go and O'Neill responded by bringing on Kelly for Rohan Ricketts. Chances went abegging and the league looked sure to go the last day until the subsitute pounced three-and-a-half minutes into injury-time.
Gary McCabe and Stephen O'Donnell calmly exchanged passes on the edge of the box and fashioned a sight of goal for the latter. His shot was deflected off target but straight into the path of Kelly, who slotted home from five yards.
Shels were far more assured against Harps as they booked their place in the Premier Division for next season. Ian Ryan and Philip Hughes struck in the first half, while David Cassidy and Conan Byrne made sure of the win after the break.
Shels can go up as champions if they avoid defeat against title rivals Cork City on Saturday.
