Corcoran’s last-gasp strike sinks Wanderers

BOHEMIANS BRAY WANDERERS 2 1

OF the 720+ minutes of competitive football that Bray Wanderers have played to date in 2018, they have lead for one minute. One. A single, solitary minute.

When Daniel Kelly nodded in after three minutes at Dalymount Park on Friday evening, it was the first time that the Seagulls had been in front all season. A damning, alarming and worrying statistic.

Their joy was incredibly shortlived though as almost straight from the restart, Ian Morris blasted home a stunner to inflict a few more grey hairs on Dave Mackey’s head.

And just when it looked like Bray would be ending the rot - and it would have been thoroughly deserved - Dinny Corcoran popped up at the death to send Wanderers’ morale into the abyss.

Bray goalscorer Daniel Kelly was one of four changes made to the visiting starting line-up by Mackey.

Conor Kenna and Gary McCabe recovered from illness and injury respectively, while Jake Kelly emerged from the doldrums for his first start of the campaign.

It was a dream start at Dalyer for the Co. Wicklow club. Some of the crowd were still filtering in when the Seagulls countered. McCabe weaved his magic and Daniel Kelly had a free header in the Bohs box which he did not waste.

So for the first time all season, Wanderers had their noses in front.

Within a minute though it was level pegging. Morris was in possession 35 yards out and unleashes a howitzer that Aaron Dillon could only watch admirably as it whistled past him and into the net. That was the 17th goal that the Blackburn Rovers loanee had conceded in six matches and four minutes.

With two goals in the first four minutes, the intensity would inevitably relent but it was no snail race.

Ex-Leeds United youngster Eoghan Stokes came close to notching in the 11th minute when his shot zipped narrowly wide of Dillon’s right-hand post.

Bohs played a five-man midfield and remarkably - even for the League of Ireland standards - four of those (Paddy Kavanagh, Karl Moore, Keith Buckley, Oscar Brennan) were ex-’Gulls.

Moore spent the majority of 2017 as Bray’s left-back but he was proving on Friday that he belongs in midfield.

After another bout of string-pulling from Moore, Brennan saw his strike from the edge of the area go wide of the left post.

In the 15th minute, centre half Dan Casey - who, with two goals on opening night, has scored more than any Bray player this season - should have netted his third of the campaign. A free-kick was whipped into the Bray area from the left and Casey met it at the back post. Dillon was equal to that effort but the rebound fell to Casey. Fortunately for Bray, he could not find the finish.

Midway through the first period, both sides were able to breathe as things simmered down.

Noone was convinced he was off the mark for 2018 in the 28th minute and he would have been; had it not been for a sublime Shane Supple save.

Aaron Greene was fouled and Noone met the resulting free. He was close in and his header was well guided but Supple launched himself across his goal and somehow palmed it away from his bottom corner.

The home side tried to force the issue next. Paddy Kavanagh’s incisive pass was perfectly latched onto by Stokes. A good strike would have left Dillon in bother but the shot-stopper was glad to see the 21-year old suffer an airshot.

It was an at times thrilling first half that both sides could justifiably argue that they deserved to be in front.

Bray had scored three minutes into the first half and Bohs tried to replicate that in the 48th minute. Moore teed up Stokes, the angle was not generous and his swipe at the ball saw it clear Dillon’s crossbar by a considerable margin.

The away side almost forged their own downfall in the 50th minute. Dillon came to claim a ball but collided with a team-mate.

Stokes was the recipient of the loose ball but his connection again let him down. Kavanagh tried to make amends with his follow-up but the goal-line was crowded by that stage and Kavanagh turned his effort over.

Another quick break from Bray had Bohs worried with 12 minutes of normal time remaining.

McCabe spotted an opportunity from distance and tried his luck and it took a frantic save from Supple to keep the effort out.

In a bid to find a later winner, Dave Mackey threw on three pairs of fresh legs as full-time approached.

A later winner would arrive but it was the men in red and black celebrating it. Artful Dodger Keith Ward - a second half replacement for Stokes - had the ball in the area but found himself swamped by Bray defenders. He managed to shift it to Corcoran who had a couple of yards to spare and he kept his cool to slot into the bottom corner.

The scenes for Bohemians were magnificent. The scenes for Bray were morbid.