Dr Tony O'Neill Trophy

College Park
01 July 2006

Bray's Under-21s gained a valuable away win against Trinity when substitute James O'Shea was credited with his first competitive goal for the Seagulls in the final quarter of the match.

The visitors had been firmly in control throughout the first half, without ever quite getting the benefit of their dominance. What seemed a good, if scrambled, effort into the net in the first quarter hour was not allowed, as referee Hilda McDermott whistled for a foul on Dean Roche after he dropped what should have been an easy take.

Roche seemed unsure of himself for much of the half, taking two bites at several catches, and was possibly lucky that Bray's on-target efforts were largely from distance.

Niall Merriman went narrowly over early on, from a Maurice Dunne cross and Roche struggled with a shot by David O'Sullivan after Stephen Roche had made a strong run to cross for him.

DU had chances, too, though, with Will Pender looking dangerous on the wing, especially with switched crosses from skipper Darren Dempsey.

A Brian Gartland gamble on keeping a long ball in might have backfired badly, but in the end it was Steven Daly who couldn't keep it in play.

Home keeper Roche took cleanly under attack from Gartland after a Dunne free awarded for a foul by the industrious Dermot Hanaphy on John Broderick, while Stephen Roche was responsible for another mini-siege of the home goal, winning a corner on the right which Dempsey headed out, but his shot from distance was neatly turned out by his namesake.

As the half-time whistle drew near, Alan Young had virtually his first exercise of the tie, tipping over well from a Hanaphy shot and taking a high home cross well just before the end.

The home players looked much more determined as the second period opened, Hanaphy shooting over after Gartland conceded an early corner, and Young punching away a Trinity free.

But Bray continued to press with a series of corners, Gartland just failing to connect with one of Dunne's best balls.

Dunne himself shot wide across the goal after receiving a pinpoint cross, Roche's short-range shot came off the crossbar and Niall Merriman was just off target after a well-worked midfield movement.

The breakthrough came after yet another Bray corner, this time taken by substitute Ross Zambra, who reached the head of David O'Sullivan at the near post. His flick down came off another substitute, James O'Shea, beating the home keeper into the near corner.

College never really looked like coming back after that, although Young brought off a good stop late in the game, and DU substitutes Niall Walsh and Gavin Smith each had half-chances.

Mícheál Ó hUanacháin

Bray Wanderers: 1 Alan Young; 2 Ronan Ivory, 5 Brian Gartland, 4 Paul O'Reilly, 3 Willie Murphy; 7 Stephen Roche, 8 Niall Merriman, 6 Keith Kelch, 11 Maurice Dunne; 10 David O'Sullivan, 9 John Broderick
Subs: 12 Robert Manley, 13 Luke Nixon, 14 James O'Shea (for O'Reilly 61), 15 Darren Lacey (for Broderick 72), 17 Ross Zambra (for Merriman 72)
Dublin University: 1 Dean Roche; 2 Dave Hayes, 5 Dan Trimble, 4 Richie Howlett, 3 Darren Dempsey (c); 6 Dermot Hanaphy; 7 Will Pender, 10 David Holt, 8 Alan Bohan, 11 Paul Molloy; 9 Steven Daly
Subs: 12 Charlie Roarty, 13 Luke Coyne Curry (for Pender 75), 14 Darren Burke, 15 Niall Walsh (for Molloy 80), 16 Gavin Smith (for Daly 80)
Referee: Hilda McDermott