Following the announcement of the 2013 League of Ireland fixtures earlier this afternoon UCD will open their campaign, on March 8, with an away visit to Bohemiens. Their first home fixture, against Derry City, will come the following Friday, on March 15. They will then subsequently travel to the south-west of the country to lock horns with newly-promoted Limerick City, following a long overdue spell outside Ireland's top-tier for the Blues.
Among the domestic glamour home ties for UCD, they will play host to Sligo Rovers (April 1), St. Patrick's Athletic (April 12), Shamrock Rovers (April 26) and again against the same sides on September 20, October 4 and October 18 respectively.
Speaking today on the season opener at Dalymount Park UCD manager Martin Russell seemed optimistic ahead of the new campaign. He was also keen to stress the impact UCD's new players will hope to have come March, following the departure of key figures, such as Paul O'Conor, Danny Ledwith and Graham Rusk, during the off-season.
"We will look forward to going to Dalymount to start the new season, It's a great opportunity for our new players to showcase their ability on one of the biggest stages in the league."
On the inaugural home league fixture Russell also spoke about looking forward to welcoming Derry City, the FAI Cup winners, as well as the following weeks trip to Thomand Park in Limerick. The latter, he emphasised, "will be a nice place for the lads to play in such a big stadium".
Captain Mick Leahy, meanwhile, echoed a similar sentiment, willing the team to "build on a good result" in the opening fixture, and "get more points than we did over the first series of games last season."
Leahy is also particularly looking forward to the Limerick fixture as it "should be a great place to play" and it presents the opportunity to revisit some family living in the county, which it will doubtless be an added incentive for the 23-year-old.
For a full list of UCD AFC's 2013 fixtures click here
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