UCD show true grit to progress in Uefa Youth League

Stjarnan 3-2 UCD
(UCD win 5-3 on aggregate)

UCD are through to the second round of the Uefa Youth League after pulling off a thrilling 5-3 aggregate win against Stjarnan in Iceland on Wednesday night.

The Students took a 3-0 lead to Rekjavik for the second leg thanks to a superb display at the UCD Bowl two weeks ago, when goals from Adam Brennan, Roy Lawlor and Odhran MacLaughlin blew the visitors away.

However it was a different story in a rollercoaster return leg.

Stjarnan came out all guns blazing and hit the front in the seventh minute through Olafur Vidar Sigurdsson.

MacLaughlin fired home a leveller four minutes before the break to leave UCD 4-1 up on aggregate, but goals from Ingolfur Gauti Ingason in the 48th minute and Hafþor Andri Benediktsson in the 71st hauled the hosts back into the tie.

UCD - who qualified for the competition by winning the SSE Airtricity Under 19 League final last October - were hanging on for dear life before Hugh Parker settled it in the 90th minute to spark huge celebrations.

It caps a great few days for UCD, who won the Enda McGuill Cup last Saturday when beating Sligo Rovers 2-1 after extra-time.

Doing club and country proud