Holders UCD safely advanced to the quarter-finals with a comfortable win over DIT at Belfield tonight.

After an Evan O’Carroll goal guided John Divilly’s side towards a 1-7 to 0-3 interval cushion, Con O’Callaghan and Luke Fortune added goals after the break.

They will now face DCU in what promises to be a mouth-watering last-eight encounter.

Despite falling behind to early points from Barry McGinn and O’Carroll, DIT responded through the inside duo of Tom Keane and Oisin Lynch.

However, following Liam Silke’s well-worked point on the right flank, O’Carroll registered an impressive 1-1 salvo to give the hosts a five-point cushion.

Keane claimed his second point for DIT on 17 minutes, before UCD added unanswered scores via the boots of Conor McCarthy, McGinn and O’Callaghan.

They maintained their momentum on the resumption as Mayo midfielder Stephen Coen joined O’Callaghan, Silke and Lynch on the scoresheet.

A James Conlon point on 40 minutes finally brought this scoring sequence to an end, but UCD continued to operate on a different level to their city rivals.

Following those quick-fire three-pointers courtesy of O’Callaghan and Fortune (below), the defending champions cruised into the next phase.

Scorers – UCD: E O’Carroll 1-4 (0-4f); C O’Callaghan 1-2; L Fortune 1-0; L Silke 0-3; B McGinn 0-2; D Gavin, S Coen, C McCarthy 0-1 each. DIT: T Keane 0-2; R O’Brien, J Conlon, O Lynch, K O’Gara 0-1 each.

UCD – T O’Brien; M O’Connor, M Dempsey, B Byrne; L Silke, C O’Connor, C O’Shea; D Gavin, S Coen; C Meyler, C McCarthy, P Healy; C O’Callaghan, E O’Carroll, B McGinn. Subs: L Fortune for Healy (20), F Clifford for Meyler (41), B O Seanachain for McGinn (47), M Breen for O’Carroll (54), D Kennedy for O’Connor (58).

DIT – M Jackson; S McMenamin, B Power, J McCusker; A McGowan, R O’Brien, D Toner; S Hurley, S Flanagan; B Howard, R O’Toole, C Pearson; J Conlon, O Lynch, T Keane. Subs: L Loughlin for Pearson (37), K O’Gara for Flanagan (42), C Lennon for Power (49), F Maguire for Lynch, S Tully for O’Toole (both 54), L Hughes for Hurley (58).

REF – C Reilly (Meath).