Premier

Finn Park
12 May 2017

Another three points in the bag for the Wicklowmen, who are now fully 18 points better off than they were at the equivalent stage of last season.

First half goals early and late put them in cruise control for the second half, and barely ten minutes remained when the insurance third was scored.

Gary McCabe volleyed the first from the visitors' first significant chance, finding the net from 20m.

Ryan Brennan, in similar fashion from some distance with the break nearing, found the post and from there the net.

And front-man Aaron Greene picked up the ball in his own half and ran without challenge past the Harps defence before slotting a shot between Ciaran Gallagher's legs.

There was little action of note at the start of the match until Harps failed to deal with a Keith Buckley throw-in and the ball touched down invitingly for McCabe, who let it hop and then drove a strong half-volley beyond Gallagher.

The home side came close to equalising just minutes later when Kilian Cantwell managed to get a shot away in a crowded area from the second of three Paddy McCourt corners, but Mark Salmon blocked almost beneath the crossbar and Damien McNulty’s follow-up was deflected wide.

But that flurry would prove the closest the Donegal team came to scoring.

Midway through the half, yet another corner was whipped in by McCourt to the centre of the goal area, but Peter Cherrie got a strong hand to it to clear, and just after the half hour, Gareth Harkin reached a through ball before the defence and struck with his first touch but the Bray keeper managed a smart save.

With less than ten minutes to the break, Aaron Greene fired a fierce free across the goal mouth, but though the slightest touch could have turned it in there was no colleague in a position to oblige.

Five minutes before half-time, however, the Seagulls doubled their lead when Brennan glided past as McNulty tried to intercept and fired a low angled shot from 18m that ricopchted into the net off the butt of the far post.

Shortly after that second strike, Ciaran O'Connor made a damaging tackle on John Sullivan for which Referee Derek Tomney seemed initially inclined to reach for his back pocket, where the dismissal card is kept, but finally decided a caution was sufficient.

His reaction was justified to the extent that the Bray man was unable to continue and was replaced before the break.

For the early part of the second period, the home side were reliant on set-pieces by Paddy McCourt, but were unable to to capitalise on his deliveries any better than they had on his corners in the first.

Half-way through, Anto Flood came close to testing Gallagher with a well-struck shot, but it was too close to the Harps keeper.

And after three attack attempts by O'Connor, Caolan McAleer crossed for substitute Danny Morrissey, who failed to trouble Cherrie with a looping header.

With a quarter of an hour to go, former Seagull Seán Houston managed to draw a rare enough save from the Bray minder, and two minutes later Morrissey was in action again, but his shot from the edge of the area fell comfortably into Cherrie's hands.

Greene clinched the win with a simple goal on 80 minutes when he ran, practically uninterrupted, almost 75m straight down the middle, outpacing Ciaran Coll in the Harps defence and following his touch ahead to get behind and slot the ball home under Gallagher.

In the last minute of regulation time, Mickey Funston whipped a free towards the far Bray post, but it was cleared at the cost of a corner.

Compiled by Mícheál Ó hUanacháin

Bray Wanderers: 1 Peter Cherrie; 6 Keith Buckley , 4 Conor Kenna (c) , 10 Karl Moore, 21 Tim Clancy; 8 Mark Salmon, 3 John Sullivan; 7 Ryan Brennan , 11 Gary McCabe , 16 Dylan Connolly; 9 Aaron Greene
Subs: 5 Derek Foran, 12 Conor Earley, 14 Jamie Aherne (for McCabe 83), 17 Gerald Pender, 19 Kevin Lynch, 20 Anthony Flood (for Sullivan 45 ), 93 Lee Steacy (gk)
Finn Harps: 1 Ciaran Gallagher; 22 Ethan Boyle, 2 Damien McNulty , 4 Killian Cantwell , 3 Ciaran Coll (c); 11 Caolan McAleer , 19 Barry Molloy, 16 Seán Houston, 20 Patrick McCourt, 6 Gareth Harkin; 10 Ciaran O'Connor
Subs: 7 Michael Funston (for McNulty 78), 9 Danny Morrissey (for Harkin 63), 18 Kealan McDermott, 23 Gareth Doherty, 25 Simon McGlynn (for McCourt 83), 26 Harry Doherty (gk)
Referee: Derek Tomney