BOHEMIANS

0-0

BRAY WANDERERS

Premier

Dalymount
04 Aug 2017

It finished scoreless in Dalymount Park, a rarity between these two teams.

A lively but fairly tentative first half favoured the visitors, but not by much, and neither side could convert any of the few chances they contrived.

Despite the result of a clash between Ismahil Akinade and Conor Kenna resulting in the Bray captain needing stitches, he was able to resume for the second period.

The second period was much of the same, though midway through there was a noticeable increase in urgency by the home side.

Harry Kenny made strongly attacking substitutions bringing both Gary McCabe and Ger Pender on with little time left to play, but though the Seagulls took a point from the encounter, their first in a month, neither side could be particularly proud of their performance.

There was little to choose between the sides in the early exchanges, though the visitors may have had something of an edge, winning a brace of corners in the opening quarter hour, but despite Bohemians' muscular approach to dispossession it was John Sullivan whose challenge on Dinny Corcoran attracted referee Graham Kelly's attention.

Akinade escaped without sanction from an offisde position before the Bray defence blunted his attack, while Ryan Brennan found the flag arguably over-zealously raised on the other side.

The Bray winger slipped when the ball was coming his way in a promising position, and the first shot with a half chance came from Jason Marks, his effort deflected out for another Bray flag-kick midway through the half.

Another set-piece followed, and after some clumsy play on both sides in the home area, a free out resulted.

Karl Moore was defending well, and seemed to have the measure of Georgie Poynton on the Bohemians right.

Brennan attracted a further finger-wagging with high-ish studs, but just before the half hour Darragh Noone blazed goalwards, rather too high to score.

Fans on both sides called for handball sanctions, though only the home side's incident was an infraction, but a foul by Moore on Poynton seemed to open an opportunity for the Gypsies only for Lorcan Fitzgerald to blast against the wall, and a good Bray counter-attack ended only with a free out against them.

DXespite a good edge by now, on the part of the visitors, Bohemians won a brace of corners as the break approached.

The home fans were incensed when Akinade was cautioned after what seemed an innocent clash with Kenna - but it was the second, more considered, contact as they fell that had caused both the damage and the foul.

But with the Bray skipper still being attended to, the half ended with no further real chances.

Bfray opened the second period brightly, and continued to look the more likely to score, Shane Supple having to move smartly to cover

Mark Salmon's effort following a Keith Buckley cross.

The Brennans on both teams clashed fairly badly almost ten minutes after the resumption, but resumed without too much delay.

Frees out came to Bohemians rescue again when Aaron Greene was threatening up the left, with Ryan Brennan acting as a strike partner now.

And just before the hour, a Noone corner was headed away high at the near post by the attack.

In a home attack, Akinade, Kenna and Lee Steacy all fell, and when that situation was cleared up, former Seagull Derek Pender beat Tim Clancy, though Kenna was on hand to tidy up initially, and after inconclusive action in front of the Bray goal, a goal kick resulted.

There were indications that the home side were trying to find a higher gear, and a Fitzgerald shot wasn't too far off target.

With just over a quarter of an hour left, Bray were still pressing, and the home support had further cause for upset when Buckley's contact with substitute Paddy Kavanagh's arm resulted in a yellow for the former Bray man.

But Bray's strong substitutions of McCabe and Pender for Noone and Clancy may not have been made in time for the two to make a substantial difference.

Buckley struck again, but though directed well it didn't have the power to test Supple, and with less than ten minutes to goa Kavanagh flag-kick eventually reached Fuad Sule whose cross found Dan Byrne, and the ball finally flew harmlessly wide.

In the final minutes Akinade headed over from a Kavanagh cross, and in time added the home support found further cause for outrage when Referee Kelly played an offside infringement instead of letting Supple keep the ball in play.

A final corner for Bohemians kept Bray hearts fluttering, but the game ended with a home free out.

Mícheál Ó hUanacháin

Bray Wanderers: 93 Lee Steacy; 6 Keith Buckley, 21 Tim Clancy, 4 Conor Kenna (c), 10 Karl Moore; 3 John Sullivan; 7 Ryan Brennan, 8 Mark Salmon, 22 Darragh Noone, 23 Jason Marks; 9 Aaron Greene
Subs: 5 Derek Foran, 11 Gary McCabe (for Noone 74), 17 Gerald Pender (for Marks 78), 19 Kevin Lynch (for Sullivan 87), 20 Anthony Flood, 24 Jake Ellis, 40 Ryan Coulter (gk)
Bohemians: 1 Shane Supple; 26 Dylan Hayes, 5 Robert Cornwall, 6 Dan Byrne, 2 Derek Pender (c); 21 George Poynton, 16 Fuad Sule, 15 Oscar Brennan , 3 Lorcan Fitzgerald; 9 Daniel Corcoran, 24 Ismahil Akinade
Subs: 8 Philip Gannon, 10 Keith Ward (for Corcoran 55), 11 Ciarán O'Connor (for Poynton 78), 12 Eoghan Morgan, 14 Patrick Kavanagh (for Fitzgerald 67) , 18 Ian Morris, 23 Kian Clarke (gk)
Referee: Graham Kelly

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