Cork got off to the perfect start when top scorer John O'Flynn scored his 50th league goal for the club, equalling Dave Barry's record. The goal makes him the club's third highest scorer of all time having reached the milestone in just 94 matches.
UCD centre-back Seamus Long had a nightmare debut when he was sent off for a second yellow card after only 25 minutes but despite this UCD still managed to make it extremely difficult for Cork to make their advantage count.
Cork totally dominated the rest of the match but their failure to score a second goal meant it was nervous time for all concerned until the final whistle.
UCD: Quigley; Kelly, Kenna, Long, O’Donnell; Murphy, Dickder, Harte, McWalter (Matthews 87); Dupuy, Martin (Byrne 80).