BRAY STUN DERRY TO DENY THEIR PERFECT 10

RÓNÁN COUGHLAN’S second half double saw basement side Bray Wanderers end Derry City’s nine game unbeaten run in the Premier Division. After three successive defeats, the Seagulls secured just their second victory of the campaign to move sixpoints adrift of Limerick the battle to avoid relegation. In front of only 319 fans at the Carlisle Grounds, it was also the first time in all competitions this season that the Wicklow side managed to score twice in a game. The home team had started brightly with defender Sean Heaney slicing away from goal when getting on the end of Kevin Lynch’s ninth minute corner. Four minutes later, home skipper Gary McCabe flashed his 22-yard shot narrowly wide. They went close again four minutes before the interval as Daniel Kelly flashed over the bar after being played in by McCabe. From a series of three corners in a row, Lynch’s right wing delivery in the 60th-minute saw Paul O’Conor’s flick deflected over. McCabe’s resulting corner-kick from the left saw Coughlan beat City stopper Ger Doherty to the ball with a bullet front post header. However, the Candystripes hit back just three minutes later. Right-full Conor McDermott broke infield off his flank and squared to Nicky Low who drilled low from 22-yards with a fine low left footed drive. Yet the Wicklow side restored their lead with 17 minutes to go. McCabe’s solo run that saw him skip past four players led to sub Dan McKenna picking out the run of former Huddersfield man Coughlan. He controlled superbly with his body before slotting home from sixyards. Derry almost equalised again seven minutes from time but Rhys Gorman hacked off the line in a scramble after sub John Cofie got on the end of Low’s corner. Then, five minutes into injury time, Evan Moran got down to parry sub Ronan Curtis’s driven shot off an Aaron McEneff free.

BRAY WANDERERS: Moran; Douglas, Heaney, Kenna, Lynch; Gorman, O’Conor; Daniel Kelly (McGovern 77), McCabe, Galvin (McKenna 68); Coughlan (Pender 90).

DERRY CITY: Ger Doherty; McDermott, Peers, Cole, Doyle; McEneff; Rory Hale, Low; Ronan Hale (Curtis 65), Patterson (Cofie 77), McDonagh (Ben Doherty 65).

Referee: J McLoughlin (Roscommon).