Rot stopped as Seagulls secure draw
IT was a case of what might have been - and what should have been – as Bray Wanderers let two points fall through their fingers.
The Seagulls had 31 minutes to punish the 10 men of Longford Town but they failed to do so and so things remain as they were in the battle of the basement sides.
Blessington’s James Mulhall didn’t enjoy his return to his home county as he received two yellow cards that saw his evening prematurely ended after 59 minutes.
Victory for Bray would have been seismic but Harry Kenny’s charges could not break down the five-man visiting defence who returned home with their mission of avoiding defeat accomplished.
Defeat against Derry City the previous week was Wanderers’ eight on the spin and resulted in wholesale changes for Kenny. Out went Jason Marks, Gareth McDonagh, Mark Salmon and Dean Kelly – all dropped to the bench – and in their place came Hugh Douglas, Karl Moore, Andrew Lewis and Ger Pender.
A crunching tackle from Blessington’s James Mulhall earned him a yellow card after just four minutes. The tackle was poor but the message was clear; both sides knew the importance of this scrap.
Connolly was the man left floored by that tackle but he recovered and controlled Ger Pender’s through-pass but his attempt to curl to the top corner saw the ball sail over.
Sean Harding chipped into the Longford area and a lovely first-time cushioned touch from Andrew Lewis helped it into Pender’s path but his strike was deflected wide.
A corner kick from former Seagull Kevin O’Connor almost undid the hosts as Greystones man Rhys Gorman met it but Bray survived and managed to clear.
Bray’s dominance quickly resumed. Sean Harding switched the play and sprayed out wide to Karl Moore. He stroked it in to the path of the over-lapping Hugh Douglas who drilled in a cross. Andrew Lewis hit the initial effort which was blocked, Connolly’s follow-up was also deflected away by a defender and Pender’s final effort looped into Paul Skinner’s arms as Longford sighed in relief.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic and when Town did threaten it tended to come from their Co. Wicklow men.
David O’Sullivan was next up as he raced down the left beyond his marker and his low cross evaded Peter Cherrie but Conor Kenna hacked clear before Lee Duffy had the opportunity to nestle it home.
Connolly shifted into the centre momentarily in the 33rd minute to try and force the issue and his pass to the right allowed Moore to deliver a cross.
Lewis met it with his forehead but his effort was deflected and it kissed the post before it went out for a corner.
A sensational pass out to Brennan by Lewis saw the Bray number seven whip in a deep cross. Connolly collected it inside the area but a heavy touch allowed Skinner to smother at Connolly’s feet.
The wing wizard continued his mission as he let fly from the edge of the area but his curling effort was smartly turned behind by Skinner.
Bray were handed even more impetus in the 59th minute when Mulhall again felled Connolly and referee Kevin O’Regan showed him a second yellow card.
Wanderers pressed and pressed and pressed but they lacked a cutting edge and resorted to strikes from outside the area which consistently sailed into the safe hands of Skinner.
Connolly’s frustrating evening hit its climax when he went to ground under pressure from a Town defender in the area on 77 minutes but instead of getting a penalty, he got his name taken in O’Regan’s notebook for simulation.
That moment rather summed up Bray’s lack of offensive ideas in the latter stages as they offered no suggestion that they could break down Longford Town.
The visitors almost pinched all three points late on when David O’Sullivan got a shot off from the edge of the D and Cherrie had to hurl himself to his left to beat it behind.
Top Form: Dylan Connolly (Bray Wanderers): Did all he could.
Bray Wanderers: 1. Peter Cherrie; 2. Hugh Douglas, 5. Alan McNally, 4. Conor Kenna, 24. Sean Harding; 10. Karl Moore, 21. Robbie Creevy, 7. Ryan Brennan, 16. Dylan Connolly; 18. Andrew Lewis, 17. Ger Pender. Subs: Jason Marks for Harding (73); Dean Kelly for Pender (74). Not used: Aaron Shanahan, Alan Byrne, Darragh Noone, Gareth McDonagh, Mark Salmon.
Longford Town: 1. Paul Skinner; 2. James Mulhall, 20. Pat Flynn, 22. Mark Rossiter, 24. Rhys Gorman, 3. Conor Powell; 21. Philip Gannon, 11. Kevin O’Connor; 19. Kaleen Simon, 16. Lee Duffy; 15. David O’Sullivan. Subs: Peter McGlynn for Rossiter (62); Josh O’Hanlon for Duffy (74). Not used: Ian Molloy, Daniel O’Reilly, Mark Hughes, Kealan Dillon, Don Cowan. Referee: Kevin O’Regan. Venue: Carlisle Grounds, Bray.