DCU get better of UCD to earn sixth Sigerson Cup crown

DCU 1-16 UCD 3-06

UCD brought the stars out west, but DCU brought a cohesive strategy and a collective sense of purpose to the Connacht Centre of Excellence in Mayo, and it brought them their sixth ever Sigerson Cup title and their first since 2020, all at the expense of their neighbours and rivals from across the city.

Four points was the winning margin, but anyone involved in either panel, or even any of the few hundred supporters that travelled, will know that UCD were flattered to be so close, having been utterly dominated by DCU's energy, kickout strategy, and their slicker attacking play.

Monaghan county star Ryan O’Toole struck an excellent early goal for UCD, driving a low shot into the bottom corner of the DCU net from 15 metres out to cancel out excellent early points from the impressive Skerries duo of Ethan Dunne and Greg McEneaney.

It was notable however that UCD scored just four times in the first half, including one free, one good point from Luke Breathnach, and two scores from defenders – O’Toole’s goal and a close-range score from Theo Clancy.

When it came to the men that were expected to carry the scoring load, the UCD attack floundered. A series of shots were dropped short and hit wide, and it was the favourites from the southside who were flattered by the 1-03 to 0-06 interval score.

The Roscommon duo of Ben O’Carroll and Daire Cregg had racked up some big tallies for John Divilly’s side over the course of this campaign but they struggled to get into this game, missing eight shots between them between wides and efforts that dropped short.

Much of this was due to the way that DCU successfully clogged up the back line, with only Luke Breathnach finding ways to unlock the defence with his clever lines of