BRAY WANDERERS

0-1

CORK CITY

Sadlier 59

Steacy s/pen (Sadlier) 57

FAI Cup

Carlisle Grounds
12 Aug 2017

Bray made their exit from the FAI Cup at the first round stage, but not without giving Cork City a testing match that could easily have gone to Extra Time.

A single goal from Kieran Sadlier at the end of a five minute period of sustained pressure early in the second half was enough to earn Cork their passage into the second round.

Some confusion surrounded the non-appearance of Peter Cherrie in the Bray side, having been announced as the starting goalkeeper, and without warning substituted by Lee Steacy, himself replaced by new signing Ryan Coulter on the bench.

Cherrie, it appears, was injured during warm-up.

And 16-year-old Luke Ellis was again listed on the bench for Bray, following his promotion last outing direct from the Bray/Joeys Under-17 squad.

Early Cork attacks had proved fruitless, including a corner played short by Shane Griffin to Sadlier and back, but the cross cleared for a throw by Karl Moore.

Karl Sheppard got past Conor Kenna, but only by virtue of contact that earned the defenders a free out.

Just inside the quarter hour, Ryan Brennan was brought down in the area in the course of a strong Bray attack, but from a Moore cross the same player headed just right of the post.

A Sadlier cross just minutes later barely reached Sheppard, whose touch flew wide.

Just before the twenty minute mark, Steacy did well to claim a Gearóid Morrissey through ball.

For a while after that Cork were dominant, drawing a sequence of frees, though they conceded a couple as well, but Sheppard's shot after a one-two with Beattie which rebounded off the butt of the far post was as close as they came to scoring.

Almost immediately after that Sadlier had a wild speculative shot well off target.

Steacy was well-placed to make a point-blank stop from Sheppard 37 minutes in, and a counter-attack by the home side was halted by a free out award.

From a Mark Salmon cross, Brennan's header minutes before the break ended on top of the net, and in time added the same player shot low and very narrowly wide of the target.

Early in the second period, Steacy was brought into play by a ball from Greg Bolger, but from a long cross a couple of minutes later Sadlier could only get a toe to the ball and it flew left and wide.

It seemed that the half-time talk had brought a greater urgency to the visitors' play, and the award of a penalty for Aaron Greene's foul on Griffin, while it may have appeared harsh, had been in some sense earned.

But Steacy dived low to his right and turned Sadlier's spot-kick away for what turned out to be the first of a sequence of corners, taken in turn by Griffin and Sadlier, following the third of which the two played tip and tag until Sadlier found the moment to fire past the Bray keeper.

Minutes later, Martk McNulty, hwo had had an restful game so far, had to race wide under pressure by Salmon, though the counter-attack produced an effort too high from substitute Achille Campion.

Midway through, a Griffin free deep in the Bray left-hand corner ended with a fine reaction block on the line by skipper Conor Kenna.

With less than a quarter of an hour to go, Sadlier jumped into Tim Clancy, in an effort to avoid him, and the Bray defender was the undeserving recipient of a formal caution.

Moments later, the home side were awarded a corner which also seemed undeserved.

Inside the final ten minutes, a Campion through ball to the left for Sadlier led to a fine low cross which Steacy missed, but Moore was able to deflect the danger at the cost of a corner.

And although substitute Gary McCabe made several good attempts, the best a free two minutes from time which McNulty had to be alert to claim, there was to be no way back for the Seagulls.

For other Cup results this weekend click here

Mícheál Ó hUanacháin

Bray Wanderers: 93 Lee Steacy; 6 Keith Buckley, 21 Tim Clancy , 4 Conor Kenna , 10 Karl Moore; 8 Mark Salmon, 3 John Sullivan; 7 Ryan Brennan, 22 Darragh Noone, 23 Jason Marks; 9 Aaron Greene
Subs: 2 Hugh Douglas, 11 Gary McCabe (for Noone 65), 17 Gerald Pender (for Marks 60), 19 Kevin Lynch (for Salmon 84), 20 Anthony Flood, 24 Jake Ellis, 40 Ryan Coulter (gk)
Cork City: 1 Mark McNulty; 8 Conor McCormack , 22 Robbie Williams, 5 Ryan Delaney, 20 Shane Griffin; 6 Greg Bolger , 16 Gearóid Morrissey; 10 Stephen Beattie, 26 Gary Buckley, 15 Kieran Sadlier ; 19 Karl Sheppard
Subs: 7 Jimmy Keohane, 9 Achille Campion (for Beattie 61) , 11 Stephen Dooley, 13 David Coffey, 17 Conor Ellis, 21 Conor McCarthy (for Williams 81), 25 Alan Smith (gk)
Referee: Robert Harvey

Back to the topContact us