CUE TO Tolka Park on Saturday for the Shelboume-Derry summit meeting, for there's still a heartbeat left in this title race - if only just. Presented with possibly the strongest defensive - albeit ultra-negative - display by any visiting side to Tolka Park all season, Shelbourne's title hopes came within five minutes of observing the last rites when they finally pierced the stubborn students.

It had seemed tailor-made for an upset. Fresh, or not so fresh, from their high voltage Cup semifinal win over Waterford on Friday, and no doubt anticipating Saturday's televised showdown with Derry, Shelbourne had to rouse themselves in front of a smallish 1,500 crowd against a pugnacious UCD team who fought for a point as if their lives depended on it.

Shelbourne had come at them practically all night, once in a while putting together sustained passages of real menace. But for the most part, UCD appeared to be growing more comfortable as their tactics stifled Shelbourne until the home side managed to mount one final bombardment.

Having survived one scary moment quite fortuitously, it then required a marginal offside decision that left UCD in a state of high dudgeon, and one moment of magic from Tony Sheridan as a prelude to the predatory Stephen Geoghegan's 15th goal of the campaign after 85 minutes.

Shelbourne can now cut Derry's lead to four points on Saturday with another four games to go.

Robbie Griffin, two-goal scorer two days beforehand, was withdrawn into a five-man UCD defensive unit with Aidan Lynch the spare man. Eoin Bennis, operating tirelessly from the right, worked his socks off in support of lone front-runner Andy Myler, while Jason Sherlock broke from the left. To all intents and purposes, it was a 5-4-1 system designed by Theo Dunne primarily to frustrate Shelbourne.

For 85 minutes it worked. On the rare occasions when a non-vintage Shelbourne did penetrate, the outstanding Tony McDonnell would stretch one of his long legs to cut out the danger, Seamus Kelly would come to the rescue or else Shelbourne would be guilty of some poor finishing.

By his own peerless standards, Geoghegan should have scored a minute before the break when Rutherford played him in but the ever-improving Kelly stood up and timed his diving save well.

Ten minutes from time Shelbourne came within a lick of paint of going behind when UCD mustered their first shot of note. The skilful Myler nearly scored his second Beckhamesque long-ranger of the season, only to see his 50-yard lob from near the right, touchline beat Alan Gough but rebound off the underside of the bar.

In that moment you sensed that luck might ultimately side with a persevering Shelbourne. Doing everything at breakneck speed, sometimes relying totally on the pace of Dave Smith to cope with UCD's swift counters, and throwing centre-half Pat Scully up front, fortune favoured five minutes from time Dave Campbell's delicately half-volleyed over the outcoming blanket defence. The retreating Shelbourne attack seemed to stop, as if pressed by a pause button, while they looked toward the linesman. Pascal Vaudequin appeared to be retreating from an offside position along the touchline, but no flag was raised. Sheridan turned and then, juggling the bouncing ball three times on his brow on his way to the by-line, he chipped for Geoghegan to nod in a potentially priceless winner.