Premier

Dalymount Park
22 May 2015

Honours even in Dalymount probably meant more to the Seagulls than to the home side: a valuable point at any time, but in the circumstances of the present season, more than usually so.

After the roller-coaster of the first round of games, it was hard to know what to expect in Phibsborough, but in the event the teams went in level at the break.

Though the Gypsies had the better of the first half chances, they had not had it all their own way and their defence had had to work hard at times just to pick up loose final Bray passes that could have put Lee Stacey's net at peril had they been more accurate.

The loss of captain (and Bray old boy) Derek Pender to injury shortly after the quarter hour put a dent in Bohemians manager (and Bray old boy) Keith Long's strategy, and he opted to leave himself short of substitutions when he replaced yet another Bray OB, Paddy Kavanagh, at half time.

That was to prove costly when substitute Anto Murphy went down under what seemed a harmless challenge by Chris Lyons, and was unable to continue. When he was then replaced by James O'Brien, Long's flexibility was gone.

And though both teams kept creating, it rarely amounted to more than half-chances, and neither side really looked dominant. A fair result, and Stephen McGuinness in particular will be pleased to have kept a second clean sheet.

In the opening minutes there were attacking moves from both sides: Lyons made a nice move towards the target but was bustled off his shot, which in turn was cleared off the line, while Jason Byrne's fourth minute effort wasn't far from McGuinness's net and a turning shot by Kavanagh was well-blocked by Graham Kelly.

Bray tried to take an early free quickly, but Referee Paul McLaughlin wasn't having any of that attacking stuff, thank you. David Cassidy's eventual shot was glanced onwards by Stephen Best, but Stacey was able to clear it right on the line.

And an eighth minute corner, well delivered by Cassidy, was headed way too high by Adam Mitchell.

No-one seemed to see how Pender ended up on the ground a minute later, but there he remained until he was removed by stretcher three minutes later, apparently with an injured right leg.

Minutes after play was resumed, the hard-working Adam Hanlon picked up a loose ball and worked his way forward, but was deemed to have fouled a defender as he neared the target.

A Ryan McEvoy free from just inside the Bohemian half almost reached the head of Hugh Douglas, but for Stacey who just managed to punch it away, and Best managed to clear away a cheeky ball forward that caught the Bray attack flatfooted.

Kavanagh was unlucky with a shot through legs that drifted just left of the posts mid-way through the first period, and shortly afterwards his cross reached Byrne, with McGuinness claiming the resultant header just under the bar. The same combination fed further with a Byrne cross for Karl Moore whose effort was blocked by Douglas.

Just on the half hour, Cassidy seemed to be taken down unfairly in the Bohemian area by Best, but McLaughlin wasn't interested, and minutes later, McEvoy skied in frustration as another Bray attack broke down with loose final passing.

As the clock wound down towards the break, Robbie Creevy failed to keep a Bohemian free in play, but meanwhile Byrne had clattered into Peter McGlynn.

The home side eventually claimed their first corner (and only the second of the half) in the 42nd minute, but the dead-ball was met with two very high headers, and a free out as a stray foot sent it careering off two parts of the woodwork.

On the stroke of regulation half-time, a nice cross found Kavanagh in space, but Michael Barker managed to force play out over the end-line for a goal-kick, and deep in time added the referee again prevented a quick Bray free.

In the opening minute of the second period, McGlynn shot straight at Stacey and Cassidy tried a looped snapshot from distance, but the Bohs keeper wasn't far enough off his line to miss it.

The visitors were the beneficiaries of a poor kline call and nearly capitalised when Lyons nodded a long ball down and goalwards, but Stacey managed to claim.

And still only four minutes into the second half, Moore's bicycle kick waas deflected from the Bray goal but Lorcan Fitzgerald was unable to make anything of the flag-kick, nor were Bray able to convert from their attack following a free for handball.

A busy resumption also saw Roberto Lopes shoot wide with no pressure on him, and Bray failing to make good from a brace of corners, before the Referee, who had let quite robust tackles pass until then, had a stern talk with Graham Kelly following a running challenge on Lopes before brandishing the yellow card.

Either side of the mid-point, McGlynn had a couple more efforts: a shot high and wide just before the twentieth minute, and an effort straight at Stacey from a Cassidy free on the left some minutes later.

Sub James O'Brien did well to clear another Bray attack before Fitzgerald shot wide from the edge of the area.

Into the final quarter hour, Barker lofted a chance over and wide at the end of a reasonable Bray push, and Hanlon forced a corner from which a Gypsies counter-attack was well defended by Alan McNally as Fitzgerald and Adam Evans combined up the left.

Bohemians' best scoring chance came with only minutes left on the clock, as an Evans cross found Byrne at the far post, and it took a fast reaction by McGuinness to smother the downward header at point-blank range.

In the final minute of normal time, Bray benefitted from a decision that a rasping shot couldn't have been avoided by a Bohs hand, but the final chance fell, again, to Byrne, who shot over the cross-bar to leave the Seagulls with a point to justify their journey.

Mícheál Ó hUanacháin

Bray Wanderers: 32 Stephen McGuinness; 20 Hugh Douglas, 5 Alan McNally, 6 Adam Mitchell, 2 Michael Barker; 11 Adam Hanlon, 10 Ryan McEvoy, 24 Graham Kelly, 13 Peter McGlynn; 8 David Cassidy (c); 18 Chris Lyons
Subs: 1 Brian Kane (gk), 3 Jack Memery, 4 Daniel O'Reilly, 14 Luke Gallagher (for Kelly 76), 17 Peter Durrad, 19 Emeka Onwubiko (for Lyons 89)
Bohemians: 25 Lee Stacey; 2 Derek Pender (c), 5 Derek Prendergast, 22 Stephen Best, 3 Lorcan Fitzgerald; 21 Robert Creevy, 16 Kealan Dillon, 4 Roberto Lopes, 7 Karl Moore; 10 Jason Byrne, 14 Patrick Kavanagh
Subs: 8 Keith Buckley, 9 Dean Kelly, 11 Marc Griffin, 17 Anthony Murphy (for Pender 17 inj), 18 Adam Evans (for Kavanagh H/T), 19 James O'Brien (for Murphy 58 inj), 30 Dean Mahon (gk)
Referee: Paul McLaughlin