BOHS DO DAMAGE
Seagulls have no answer in nightmare at the Carlisle
BRAY WANDERERS 0 BOHEMIANS 5
IF Bray Wanderers’ season was an animal, it would have been taken to the vet by now and put to sleep.
Some Seagulls fans may not want to sleep though in case they suffer a reoccurence of this nightmare that saw a half-arsed Bohemians side stroll to a 0-5 success.
Bohs striker Dinny Corcoran helped himself to a first-half hattrick and may have had more, while Kevin Devaney added the other strike on a night that Keith Long’s side may have hit double figures if they had the hunger for it.
So seemingly unimpressed at the interval - and with his side already trailing 0-4 - Bray boss Gary Cronin whipped off three of his starters as he emptied his bench in desperate hope of some sort of salvation.
Wanderers did stem the flow of goals but couldn’t restore much pride on a miserly night for the Co. Wicklow men for whom the First Division - and a fresh start - cannot come quick enough.
It was Cronin’s seventh match in charge and his seventh defeat but judgement on the Dubliner will not begin until 2019.
It may have been another night to forget for Cronin but for Dinny Corcoran it was most certainly a night to remember.
Corcoran’s sweet quartet were four of the easiest goals that he’s ever likely to score but as is often the case, he owes a debt of gratitude to the wizardry of Keith Ward.
Kevin Devaney was responsible for the Gypsies’ other effort as they enjoyed a glorified training session at the Carlisle Grounds.
Corcoran got the part started in the eighth minute when Ward split a static Bray defence with a threaded pass and he rounded Mark O’Connor to open the scoring.
It was almost game, set and match by the 11th minute as the Bohs ace doubled the lead. A Bray defender’s sliding intervention diverted the ball to the unmarked Keith Buckley and he took full advantage as he squared it to Corcoran for a tap-in.
The third arrived in the 25th minute and it was a beautiful breakaway goal. After Shane Supple plucked a free kick from the night sky, he hurled the ball up-field to Ward and seconds later, Devaney was dancing into the box to slide home his finish.
Corcoran’s hat-trick was wrapped up six minutes before the break and there were perhaps some question marks over the Bray shot-stopper for this one as it wasn’t the finest of strikes from Corcoran and did seem to slip past the goalkeeper with ease.
Keith Long’s side had the chances to make it 0-5 long before Corcoran eventually did but they - understandably - weren’t at their ruthless best.
Corcoran did add his fourth shortly before leaving the field to a standing ovation when he side-footed Ward’s inch-perfect cross to the net.
It was an easy but enjoyable night for Bohemians by the seaside as they close in on a top five finish.
Wanderers did display a pulse in the second half and Shane Supple was called into action on a few occasions. Wanderers showed that they while they may be out of the top flight - and out of sight in this contest - they were still willing to fight. Another positive for Seagulls fans was the presence of three local men; Dylan Hayes, Rhys Gorman and Ger Pender, in the starting line-up. A not so pleasing sight was seeing their three numbers flashed up on the fourth official’s board at the break as they became the sacrificial lambs to the slaughter after a torrid opening 45 minutes.
Bray Wanderers: 40. Mark O’Connor; 4. Conor Kenna, 15. Darragh Gibbons, 5. Sean Heaney, 3. Kevin Lynch;
15. Dylan Hayes, 6. Paul O’Conor, 14. Rhys Gorman, 22. Darragh Noone;
9. Ger Pender; 24. Jake Ellis. Subs: John Sullivan for Gorman (H/T); Jake Kelly for Pender (H/T); Sean Harding for Hayes (H/T). Not used: Evan Moran, Cian Walsh, Glen Hollywood, Dragos Mamaliga.
Bohemians: 1. Shane Supple; 2. Derek Pender, 4. Dan Casey, 6. Daniel Byrne, 23. Patrick Kirk; 16. Keith Buckley, 19. JJ Lunney; 27. Daniel Kelly, 10. Keith Ward, 11. Kevin Devaney; 9. Dinny Corcoran. Subs: Danny Grant for Kelly (67); Cristian Magerusan for Ward (71); Eoghan Stokes for Corcoran (71). Not used: Robbie McCourt, Oscar Brennan, Ian Morris, Colin McCabe.
Referee: Graham Kelly. Venue: Carlisle Grounds, Bray.