Premier

Eamonn Deasy Park
23 Jun 2017

A second win in a row for Bray, confirming their current top three standing.

Hardly the most promising of starts, though, with barely a shot in anger in the opening quarter of an hour, but when an unnecessary corner was conceded, Gary McCabe was in hand not merely to take the deadball but to return it when it was half cleared after Conor Winn's punch, his long cross finding Anto Flood in the air to finish off.

Bray captain Conor Kenna almost wrapped the whole thing up a couple of minutes later, but his netted effort (from another McCabe set-piece, it should be noted) was ruled out by the offside flag.

It wasn't long before the Seagulls struck again - long enough, however, for Galway debutant Eoin McCormack to poach a ball behind Keith Buckley and send it past Peter Cherrie, but marginally wide of the target.

The Tribesmen were finding their defence shaky, based on three at the back, and when Mark Salmon reached Buckley's pass safely, he didn't waste time before sidefooting past Winn.

It took just over fifty minutes' playing time for Galway's response to deliver what counts. Once more, it was from a set-piece, this time a Ronan Murray corner, with Stephen Folan rising highest to meet it, and give the final quarter hour an extra bit of spice.

But hot sauce can only take you so far, and the Galway attack simply didn't have the meat to get past Bray's strong middle and back staff.

With midfielder Gavan Holohan effectively a passenger for the final minutes, following an overstretched attempt to reach a Conor Melody cross, there was little they could do to rescue even a point.

The opening minutes were marked by teasing efforts, Ryan Brennan trying it on almost from the kick-off, his effort easily parried by Winn, and McCormack setting up Murray for an off-target shot just five minutes in.

Early Bray corners, at least until the one that ended in the opening goal, were handled well by the Galway keeper, though Referee Paul Tuite spotted an infringement during the second that would have ruled out any score in any case.

Just after the ten minute mark, Aarion Greene forced his way past the home defence, drawing them from Brennan, who received his pass on the right of the area, but Winn got down to block.

A quarter of an hour in, western new boy Gary Kinneen got round the Bray defence worryingly easily but overcooked his cross and the moment was lost.

Those attacks in the first half hour set the pattern of the game, and the rest of that period was marked by free kicks and little else, withthe exception of a promising move started by a Murray deadball that he laid off to Holohan for a well-steered lofted cross in the direction of Padraic Cunningham, but he failed to get purchase on his header and it was weak and easily claimed.

Some of the Tribesmen's moves seemed under-rehearsed, a one-two between Holohan and McCormack failed though the ball was eventually returned to them for a throw, and Hugh Douglas delivered a fine clearing header.

Galway's first corner after the resumption looked good, but if there's no-one where it flies, it's not really good.

The visitors' counter-attack featured another cross from Greene for Brennan, but it was slightly too far for the latter to control comfortably and he hit the side netting.

The home side were looking better since the break, following good work by Colm Horgan and a partial clearance a Cunningham shot was blocked away and from Murray's resulting corner, Holohan headed back across goal but Gary Shanahan couldn't keep his header down.

oouglas may have been fortunaste that his tough challenge on Cunningham earned only a caution, and a free that rebounded off the wall and was eventually recycled to Cunningham, whose effort was way too high.

A foul on McCabe in a dangerous looking position was taken by Greene who fired hard and just missed the target, just inches above the upright.

By now Galway had reinforced their defence, which had started out as a back three, and up front they were aided by a series of frees, a Holohan shot ending delected out for the corner that gave Folan his chance and his goal.

The introduction of Vinnie Faherty with a quarter of an hour remaining should have revitalised the home side, and it did have an effect, but the effective loss of Holohan following his strain reduced the power of Galway's last ditch efforts to secure equality.

And not even the addition of Winn to the crowded area awaiting the corner awarded in the final seconds of time added could bring them level.

Compiled by Mícheál Ó hUanacháin

Bray Wanderers: 1 Peter Cherrie; 2 Hugh Douglas , 4 Conor Kenna (c), 19 Kevin Lynch; 8 Mark Salmon , 3 John Sullivan; 11 Gary McCabe, 6 Keith Buckley , 7 Ryan Brennan; 20 Anthony Flood ; 9 Aaron Greene
Subs: 5 Derek Foran, 16 Dylan Connolly (for Flood 68), 17 Ger Pender, 21 Tim Clancy, 22 Darragh Noone, 23 Jason Marks (for McCabe 84), 93 Lee Steacy (gk)
Galway United: 1 Conor Winn; 2 Colm Horgan (c), 57 Stephen Folan , 5 Lee Grace; 17 Gary Shanahan, 7 Gavan Holohan, 19 Ronan Murray, 8 David Cawley, 21 Gary Kinneen; 9 Padraic Cunningham, 22 Eoin McCormack
Subs: 4 Paul Sinnott, 6 Alex Byrne, 10 Vinny Faherty (for Cunningham 75), 11 Conor Melody (for Shanahan 76), 13 Aaron Conway, 14 Kevin Devaney (for McCormack 70), 30 James Tierney (gk)
Referee: Paul Tuite