DCU soccer fans held their breath on Wednesday evening as their college was set to be part of history, when the country’s two best college sides met in the All-Ireland final in Glasnevin. Some of the country’s best up-and-coming talents would be on display as they contested for the most prestigious university soccer prize.
However, before the CUFL final, it was time for the Bill O’Herlihy cup to be fought over by the Goliaths of DCU’s news and entertainment mediums. That’s right; for only the 4th time ever, DCUfm and The College View would take to the field looking to re-ignite a rivalry that many have claimed to be fiercer than that of Celtic and Rangers.
The teams could not have been more evenly matched in the early stages, with goals from FM’s Colin Brennan and The View’s Sean Walsh keeping the teams level for the opening 10 minutes.
As the tempo and number of “mistimed” tackles increased, so did the score-line as an adroit finish inside the box by the paper’s Mike Hurley gave The View a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately for the paper, this goal seemed to galvanise the radio station, who commanded the rest of the half before going into the break 6-3 ahead.
With the history books showing the paper ahead on the roll of honour on two games to one, both sides knew the importance of a strong second-half performance.
Unfortunately for the newspaper the flames of a revival were quickly extinguished by DCUfm, as the radio station seemed intent on avenging their 12-4 loss in last year’s game. FM’s Cian Murray bossed the midfield while his captain, the impressive Ben Egan contributed with a hat-trick to extended the radio station’s advantage.
The introduction of fresh legs by DCUfm in the second half was where the game was won, as The View had already emptied their bench of the dearth of subs they had.
The radio station’s replacements kept control for the remainder of the game, with DCUfm eventually emerging as victors with a final score of 11-8, putting them back on level terms with the View on the roll of honour and giving the broadcasters the bragging rights until next year’s re-match.
Jason Brennan
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