Spoils shared in forgettable game
DROGHEDA UNITED 0 BRAY WANDERERS 0
IF ever a match was worthy of being relegated to a side column, it is this one. If this match was a wedding guest, it would be the uncle that was forgotten and got squeezed onto the table of ex-colleagues and acquaintances that are merely filling up the numbers.
And just like that uncle, this match was extremely forgettable. If you’re looking for positives then a third clean sheet of the season for Peter Cherrie is the answer and from a Co. Wicklow point of view – Kilpedder’s Stephen McGuinness also recorded a shutout.
Drogheda’s blank aside though, there is very little else to put a smile on Harry Kenny’s face.
Of course it should not be taken for granted that a trip to Hunky Dorys Park will never be easy but considering the tale of tapes for both sides thus far this season, then three points should be the only aim for the Seagulls from such outings.
Kenny was able to welcome Gary McCabe and Mark Salmon back from suspension for the midweek visit to Co. Louth and it was a hometown man who registered the first strike of the game as Ryan Brennan met Keith Buckley’s cross but it was a routine stop for McGuinness.
Wanderers were living off scraps against a well-organised Drogheda defence. Aaron Greene threatened to disrupt that on 17 minutes but ex-Bray man Luke Gallagher snuffed out the threat with a smart block.
Greene asked questions again midway through the first period as he snuck in behind the Drogs defence but his strike from a narrow angle was turned behind by McGuinness.
United finally had a moment to excite their fans on 25 minutes. Another former Bray employee Adam Wixted delivered a cross and Marc Griffin turned it goalwards but Peter Cherrie smothered it.
Just before the half hour mark, Wanderers almost lead courtesy of a fittingly scrappy goal. Killian Brenna, elder brother of Bray’s Ryan Brennan, made a complete mess of his clearance in the penalty area and it rebounded off Greene and trickled wide.
Gary McCabe tried his luck from the edge of the area but his effort cleared the crossbar and next to push the issue was Dylan Connolly as his pace took him clear of the backline but Kevin Farragher intervened with a crucial tackle.
Stephen McGuinness thought he had lost his clean sheet in the 37th minute as Greene unleashed a delicious curling effort that was mere inches from bulging the top corner of the net.
Up to that point, the Drogheda defence had been the stars of the show but Tim Clancy proved equally able on 54 minutes.
Killian Brennan’s chipped pass was cushioned into Griffin’s path by Thomas Byrne but again- with the trigger finger poised – Clancy got there in the nick of time to keep the tie scoreless.
There were 12 minutes left on the clock when Drogheda squandered their most blatant chance of the clash.
Killian Brennan’s free kick was not dealt with and amongst the madness that ensured, it dropped to Gallagher but he fired into the side netting.
A pair of Bray substitutions combined to almost break the deadlock. Karl Moore delivered the devilish cross from the left and Pender shook free to meet it at the near post but his effort was off target.
Gary McCabe has proved to be a lethal marksman from 12 yards this term but the attackers almost handed Drogheda a penalty of their own when Brennan’s corner struck him but referee Rob Harvey disagreed with the home fans’ opinion that it had struck his arm.
The hosts finished the stronger side. Another Brennan dead-ball, a free kick this time, was headed over by Gallagher and then the chance of the night; Griffin was unable to dispatch Sean Brennan’s pass but it then fell to Mark Doyle and he failed to even test Cherrie from a couple of yards out.
Drogheda United: 1. Stephen McGuinness; 2. Colm Deasy, 4. Kevin Farragher, 7. Luke Gallagher, 3. Stephen Dunne; 12. Ryan McEvoy, 9. Killian Brennan, 8. Sean Thornton; 27. Adam Wixted, 17. Marc Griffin, 14. Thomas Byrne. Subs: Mark Doyle for Byrne (75); Stephen Elliot for Griffin (89); Jake Hyland for S. Brennan (90). Not used: Ryan Coulter, Conor Kane.
Bray Wanderers: 1. Peter Cherrie; 6. Keith Buckley, 4. Conor Kenna, 21. Tim Clancy, 19. Kevin Lynch; 8. Mark Salmon, 3. John Sullivan; 7. Ryan Brennan, 11. Gary McCabe, 16. Dylan Connolly; 9. Aaron Greene. Subs: Karl Moore for Sullivan (58); Ger Pender for Brennan (73); Derek Foran for Clancy (80). Not used: Lee Steacy, Ryan Robinson, Jason Marks, Anthony Flood. Referee: Rob Harvey. Venue: Hunky Dorys Park, Drogheda.