Premier

RSC
14 Sep 2018

Another defeat on the road for the Seagulls, who now look increasingly like candidates for automatic relegation.

Sander Puri scored late in the first half before Noel Hunt ensured the points in the second.

Waterford had started brightly as Stanley Aborah’s early corner found Rory Feely, but he headed over the bar.

The Seagulls started to look a little stronger after a quarter of an hour with a spell of possession, but it was Waterford who looked the more dangerous.

Feely linked up with Noe Baba to find the head of Puri, but his header found Hunt in an offside position.

Blues debutant - and ex-Wanderer - Cory Galvin fired straight at Evan Moran before Puri failed to get enough contact on an attempted overhead kick from Baba’s cross.

Bray were struggling to hold possession, but looked dangerous down the left as Darragh Noone broke, but his ball for the advanced Kevin Lynch couldn't find its target.

The goal Waterford’s possession had looked like producing came seven minutes before the break, after Bray minder Moran had to leave the field following a clash with Puri.

Galvin’s through ball set Puri away and he fired past sub keeper Mark O’Connor.

Kenny Browne had an opportunity to double the lead before half-time but his header was well held by O’Connor.

Waterford had a goal ruled out for offside in the first minute of the second period after an otherwise tidy finish by Hunt, who got his deserts with 18 minutes left when Feely’s cross wasn’t cleared and Hunt fired on the turn to get his name on the scoresheet.

Wanderers were almost in just minutes later when Ger Pender made the most of a Browne mistake with Waterford keeper Niall Corbet forced to make the save, but the home side held on to pick up three valuable points.

Bray Wanderers: 29 Evan Moran; 15 Darragh Gibbons, 5 Seán Heaney , 4 Conor Kenna (c), 3 Kevin Lynch; 21 Seán Harding, 14 Rhys Gorman, 6 Paul O’Conor, 22 Darragh Noone; 11 Jake Kelly, 9 Gerald Pender
Subs: 8 John Sullivan (for Harding 84), 24 Jake Ellis, 16 Glen Hollywood, 25 Cian Walsh, 27 Dragos Mamaliga, 30 Jamie Crilly (for Noone 80), 40 Mark O’Connor (for Moran 35 inj)
Waterford: 25 Niall Corbet; 4 Noe Baba, 5 Kenny Browne, 3 Garry Comerford, 19 Dylan Barnett; 22 Stanley Aborah, 6 Paul Keegan (c); 16 Rory Feely, 17 Cory Galvin, 7 Sander Puri ; 10 Noel Hunt
Subs: 1 Matthew Connor (gk), 8 Gavan Holohan (for Galvin 67), 14 Dean O'Halloran, 20 Dessie Hutchinson (for Aborah 89), 24 Ismahil Akinade (for Hunt 80) , 32 Carlos Wilson
Referee: Neil Doyle