Enda McGuill Cup Final

Carlisle Grounds
04 October 2005

Lacey and McGee on a break
Pic Michael Tierney

Both teams started what proved an exhilarating first half with open, attacking football, marked by pace and determination. An early Bray free hit the wall, and was eventually cleared following a couple of throws.

Though the visitors' defence had not been breached for 12 matches, it was evident early on that it was not invulnerable. It was also evident that the hosts were playing well above their recent form – the sense of occasion, so often a liability, was not proving so in this case.

On the quarter hour, Bray might have gone ahead after Maurice Dunne won a free near his left side-line, when Ross Zambra's dead-ball was headed across the goal by Wayne Byrne for Darren Lacey, but he misjudged a bicycle kick and the ball went loose.

A similar free at the other end led to a poor kick-out which Steven McKeown intercepted, but his efforts were eventually blunted by the Bray defence.

Again Bray were on the attack, and when Lacey crossed wide for Zambra, his return cross was deflected by Darren Sargent onto his own keeper's post but when it spun back, Lacey was too far away to capitalise before the defence got hold of it.

Christy Doran had an attempt narrowly wide soon after, but Pat Hannigan wisely left it to sail past the far post.

Dunne's next effort was going wide of the far post, and Brendan Clarke's dive was probably unnecessary: though he seemed to palm it away, a goal-kick was the result.

Hannigan raced wide to win a goal-kick off the onrushing Robbie Smith, and from the next attack, he smothered Doran's shot, and a rather loose clearance kick was not punished, as Conor Fitzgerald blew for a free out.

Willie Murphy brought the ball right into the left-hand corner, and crossed for Byrne, but Clarke was ready for the header.

As the half-hour approached, Zambra fed Byrne from a free arising from Eoghan O'Shea's challenge on Lacey, but the striker couldn't keep the ball from crossing the end-line.

After referee Fitzgerald had a word with Dunne and Luke Fitzpatrick, Zambra's free found Byrne in position to head down across the face of the goal past the stranded Clarke to where Lacey was waiting to blast home from all of four yards.

If Pats manager Paul Osam was wondering how his players would react to the first goal against them in so long, he didn't have long to wait. They went on the attack immediately, and when Peter McGee incautiously tackled Smith on the edge of the area, a penalty was inevitable.

Doran got the honour, and made no mistake. That was clearly a blow to the Seagulls, and they battened down the hatches for the remaining minutes of the half.

Bray had the first chance of the second half, Lacey's shot headed high by Sargent to allow Clarke to claim. But Joe Hayden spearheaded a counter-attack, shooting just left of the post.

Thereafter, however, the two teams seemed to be toying with different formations that might combine attack and defence – though neither quite resorted to a 5-0-5!

Peter McGee had a 35m free kick just after the hour that curled wickedly around the wall from 35m, and went just left of the post. Hayden again had an effort just right, and moments later O'Shea felt it necessary to hoof over Clarke's bar after Paul Murphy had headed down for Lacey in a scoring position.

With barely twenty minutes of normal time remaining, Ian Maher 22m free went to waste when three Pats players got in each other's way in the area, and a couple of odd decisions in the Pats half blunted the flow of the game – not that it was either in pace of in style a patch on the first half.

A moment of madness chasing a high ball that was always going out saw Dunne flopping over the low wall on the far side of the pitch, but although it looked like potentially a bad injury he was able to continue after a couple of minutes.

Bray continued to look marginally the better team, but by now both had clearly opted for extra time – if not penalties. There was little between the sides in the first 10 minutes of the extra period, though if anything Pats had the better of the attacks, while Lacey shot very narrowly over just before the whistle after Dunne had fed Zambra for the cross.

In the second, which saw Sargent replaced having succumbed, apparently, to an earlier knock, Lacey shot to the right from a free near the centre circle, and over following a good run and cross by substitute Paul Murphy, before Hannigan had to punch away a Saints free following a foul by Bray skipper Michael Roche on Jeff Doyle.

Pats had a couple of corners in the dying minutes, but it was Bray's Stuart Holt who produced the last chance of the game, shooting over following a Roche free from half-way.

The visitors opted to shoot first in the penalties that followed, and both keepers opened well, Hannigan diving to his right to deny Maher, and Clarke blocking Roche's 'Route One' approach.

Doran made no mistake, but Clarke got a touch on Holt's shot, which nevertheless flew into the net off the post.

O'Shea misjudged, and blasted over in the direction of the Bowling Alley, but Murphy shot low and hard, sending Clarke the wrong way.

Darcy put the ball cleanly into the right hand corner of the net, and Lloyd Colfer opted to shoot under the keeper to his right.

The final Pats regulation penalty fell to Brian Rooney, who blasted low to Hannigan's left, and Maurice Dunne's mirror-image shot low to Clarke's right sealed the tie.

Mícheál Ó hUanacháin

Penalties

St Patricks Athletic shot first

BRAY WANDERERS	4-3	ST PATRICKS ATHLETIC
Roche Saved		Maher Saved
Holt		Doran
Murphy		O'Shea Missed
Colfer		Darcy
Dunne		Rooney

Match Picture Gallery

Celebration Picture Gallery

Bray Wanderers: 1 Pat Hannigan; 2 Ronan Ivory, 4 Michael Roche (c), 5 Willie Tyrrell, 3 Willie Murphy; 7 Ross Zambra, 6 Niall Donnelly, 8 Peter McGee, 11 Maurice Dunne; 9 Wayne Byrne, 10 Darren Lacey
Subs: 12 Lloyd Colfer (for Zambra H/T ET), 14 Conor Sinnott (for Ivory F/T), 15 Paul Murphy (for Byrne 66), 16 Stuart Holt (for Donnelly 54), 17 Brian Gartland
St Patricks Athletic: 20 Brendan Clarke; 2 Conor McMahon, 5 Darren Sargent, 4 Eoghan O'Shea, 3 Steven McKeown; 7 Luke Fitzpatrick, 8 Ian Maher, 6 Joseph Hayden, 11 Christy Doran; 9 Robbie Smith, 10 Caolán Fitzsimons
Subs: 12 Brian Rooney (for Fitzpatrick 70), 14 Jeff Doyle (for Sargent H/T ET inj), 15 Paul Olima (for Fitzsimons 70), 16 Peter Darcy (for McKeown 18 inj), 18 Ian Farrell (for Hayden 103)
Referee: Conor Fitzgerald