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DOOM and gloom is engulfing the Carlisle Grounds and rightly so. Sure, there may only be six points separating them from Sligo Rovers but in reality the gap is immeasurable.
Prior to Friday, St. Patrick’s Athletic had only amassed 10 points. They’d scored seven goals in eight games. They were - and still are - nervously glancing over their shoulders at the play-off spot. They are a team that the Seagulls should have in their radar. But on Friday, the Saints strolled - not marched - to the easiest 5-0 victory of their lives.
If Bray Wanderers were a horse, they’d be Pritt Stick by now. They were dead and buried by half-time in Inchicore. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Perhaps that played a part in Dave Mackey’s reshuffling of his pack in Inchicore.
There was one change to the line-up from the Cork defeat - Paul O’Conor returned at Jake Kelly’s expense. But the eyebrow-raiser was the deployment of Gary McCabe in the striker’s role, with Aaron Greene shifted to the left flank. It did not work.
Roaming right-back Simon Madden almost nudged the hosts ahead after six minutes but his back post volley flew wide.
The Bray defence survived for 18 minutes before succumbing to the pressure. Pat’s skipper Ian Bermingham got to the byline and chipped a cross into the penalty area. Ex-Seagull Ryan Brennan diverted the ball goalwards with his head and American frontman Jake Keegan nipped in to nod home.
Referee Ray Matthews showed resilience in the 22nd and 23rd minutes respectively when he booked Simon Madden and Daniel Kelly for simulation respectively as he refused to fall for their falls.
With Mackey’s side yet to score more than a single goal in a match in 2018, Kevin Toner effectively extinguished the contest in the 37th minute when took full advantage of Bray’s absent marking to nod a Conan Byrne corner back across goal and into the net.
It got worse for Bray quite quickly. They conceded a penalty in the 40th minute - Conor Kenna barged into Dean Kelly and left Matthews with no option. Experienced attacker Conan Byrne drilled it down the middle to best Aaron Dillon to make the second half a foregone conclusion.
Wanderers needed a miracle and Mackey made changes; he called upon widemen Jake Kelly and Cory Galvin but it failed to stem the flow of the Saints.