Premier

Hunky Dorys Park
11 Apr 2014

O'Neill drills home Bray's second
pic Michael Tierney

Bray Wanderers earned three deserved points against one of the current form teams by the Boyne.

A lively first half failed to separate the teams, but each of the keepers saw action and there were a number of close encounters.

Nevertheless despite the home side having a slight edge in possession they were unable to translate that into goals.

And the second looked like being another spell of entertainment without climax until Dave Scully took advantage of a scramble in the Drogheda goal-mouth following a Graham Kelly corner to hook the ball into Dave Ryan's net.

The home side went immediately on the attack, but it was the Seagulls who netted next, this time through a superb solo effort by Shane O'Neill with a rising finish from the left edge of the area.

Bray continued to keep play returning to the home half, and when the home side threatened, Stephen McGuinness delivered an assured performance at the back.

The loss of Graham Kelly to an injury in the late stages will do little to ease Alan Mathews' selection problems for two games in rapid succession next weekend.

The visitors had the first serious attack of the encounter, losing possession eventually in the final third, and that was answered minutes later by Eric Foley's race for a long high ball forward, only to be beaten to it by McGuinness.

But the hosts were in Bray's faces again earning a corner that was cleared with a little difficulty by the Seagulls, following which Dave Cassidy volleyed a bullet to Dave Ryan from the right.

A period of seesawing followed, with good play a mark of the match, before Issy Akinade shot wide on the turn when he needed a fraction more time to settle his aim.

Midway through the first period, Bray were forced to defend again, but they did so well until Carl Walshe found a little space, but failed to keep his shot down as the defence took a breather.

Ryan claimed a Cassidy cross which was just a little too far forward for either Akinade or Shane O'Neill, and Bray survived a flurry of short-range efforts as the Drogheda players got in each other's way in the area, former Bray man Daire Doyle finally poking a shot well over the bar.

Just before the half-hour, O'Neill thought he had a chance on a counter-attack and let fly, only to see the ball rebound sharply off Mick Daly for a corner.

And Dave Scully had a go after a one-two with Akinade, but Ryan managed to palm the ball away. Minutes later, the same player was constrained to concede a corner, but nothing came of it.

Gary O'Neill got a touch when Gavin Brennan's long throw was flicked on, but the ball trickled wide of the target.

With five minutes to go to the break, the visitors were awarded a free out following a bout of head-tennis and claims of a handball, and at the other end O'Neill and Akinade combined to contrive a corner, and Kelly's flag-kick found its way to Cassidy who volleyed another rocket to Ryan.

Brennan received his own corner back and shot it wide across the face of the goal with support arriving, and Foley brought the half to an end with a 35m free that flew just past McGuinness's left post.

The Bray keeper made two good stops in the opening minutes of the second period, the first a punch and the second a clean take, and at the far end Cassidy tried an ambitious lob that didn't come off when Akinade pulled back to him after his own good work had failed to provide an opening.

And it was the tall young Nigerian who held off the Drogheda defence to win a corner ten minutes in that led to the opening goal. Kelly delivered the set-piece, which Ryan seemed to have covered well, but he dropped the ball and in the ensuing scramble Scully hooked the ball into the net.

And to the surprise of the home faithful, Wanderers doubled their advantage four minutes later when O'Neill raced up the left with a ball he received in midfield from Cassidy. He doubled Daly and fired a rising shot from wide on the left corenr of the area into the roof of McGuinness's net.

Just past the hour, another Kelly flag-kick threatened further damage for the Boynesiders when Cassidy's grass-skinning volley skidded inches outside the post.

But as Bray awaited the home side's response, it failed to materialise. O'Neill missed an open target with less than twenty minutes left, when Akinade fed Cassidy wide and the latter teed up the striker.

Brennan and Kelly clattered into each other with an audible crunch, but both were able to continue play - though Kelly was later stretchered off following a further knock.

Ryan touched away a Dean Zambra cross, and with less than a quarter of an hour to go Bray had a let-off when a goal-kick was awarded though it seemed Brennan's corner had gone out off Akinade's head.

And Akinade had two further efforts in rapid succession, the first taken by Ryan and the second tipped away.

On the stroke of normal time, a Drogheda effort flew high over McGuinness's bar, and deep in time added the offside flag saved Bray from a dangerous attack after half-hearted Drogheda claims for a penalty.

Mícheál Ó hUanacháin

Bray Wanderers: 32 Stephen McGuinness; 12 Niall Cooney, 22 Robert Maloney, 2 David Webster (c), 5 Adam Mitchell; 16 Dean Zambra, 19 David Scully, 24 Graham Kelly, 8 David Cassidy; 7 Shane O'Neill, 9 Ismahil Akinade
Subs: 1 Gavin Sheridan (gk), 3 Jamie McGlynn, 10 Michael Brown (for O'Neill 50), 17 Philip Nolan, 18 Ciaran Byrne, 21 Gary Curran (for Kelly 86 inj), 23 Seán Hurley
Drogheda United: 1 David Ryan; 2 Michael Daly, 12 Ciaran McGuigan, 5 Alan McNally, 3 Shane Grimes; 14 Carl Walshe, 22 Eric Foley, 18 Daire Doyle, 11 Gavin Brennan (c); 10 Gary O’Neill, 19 Declan O’Brien
Subs: 4 Paul Andrews, 6 Paul Crowley, 7 Cathal Brady, 8 Gavan Holohan (for Foley 70), 9 Philip Hughes (for O'Neill 76), 13 Stephen Maher (for Doyle 60), 40 Dylan Connolly (gk)
Referee: Paul Tuite