Seagulls win in Waterford

A tough battle lay ahead

THE Seagulls moved off the bottom of the Bord Gais League of Ireland Premier Division with a 1-2 victory over Waterford United in Kilcohan.

The controversial two-phase league structure was in play in 1993 and this was Bray’s last game before the split between the top and bottom halves of the league.

The split took place after 22 games and saw the top six teams go forward to contest for the league title while the bottom six would head towards a relegation battle. Bray were due to play the first game of the second phase the following weekend but had yet to discover who their opponents were due to a back game between Cork and Limerick.

‘While this new system has been heavily criticised in some quarters, it could work to Bray’s advantage,’ read the report in that week’s Wicklow and Bray Peoples.

‘They are currently on the 13-point mark, ahead of Waterford United on goal difference, but four points adrift of Sligo Rovers and Drogheda United. Shamrock Rovers have 18 points, but it will be a major surprise if they were relegated.

‘As before two teams will be relegated, but there will also be a play-off between the team who finishes third from the bottom of the Premier Division and the team who finishes third from the top of the First Division, so John Holmes’ men won’t want to finish in the bottom three. However, that play-off will be over two legs, so the Premier Division side will be fancied to come through.

‘Last Sunday’s performance was most encouraging, even if the seasiders did have a lot of luck in the opening half. Not a lot has gone right for Bray this season, but the Gods were certainly smiling on them in Kilcohan when the Blues wasted a number of chances.

‘Goalkeeper Sean Ward made an excellent save from Darren Lonergan and defender Stephen O’Reilly cleared off the line from John Power. Alan Barry then drove a free against the upright as the homesters continued to press.

‘Bray went for the jugular in the second half and were rewarded after 63 minutes when Bo McKeever and Paul Brady combined to set up a chance for Jason Byrne who headed sweetly to the net.

‘Byrne then added a second seven minutes later, pouncing on an error in the Waterford defence, drawing Martin Quinlivan out of the home goal and sending the ball into the net from a very narrow angle, despite the presence of two Waterford United defenders on the goalline.

‘Brian Barry did manage to pull a goal back for Waterford late in the 80th minute, but the Bray defence held out for a hard-earned victory.

‘Their second-half performance augurs well for the rest of the season, but they still face a long hard battle to avoid relegation,’ read the report.