Seagulls beaten at home by Students
Students seal late win after dramatic encounter
IT IS SAID that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Try telling that to Alan Mathews, who watched his side put on a fantastic advertisement for the League of Ireland that left Bray Wanderers players and fans seething about what might, and what should have been.
Having been dealt a hammer blow in the third minute by Cillian Morrison, the Seagulls bounced back off the ropes with fists flying in every direction.
Two delightful punches were delivered by Shane O’Connor and David Cassidy to leave the home side ahead, just 19 minutes after going behind.
Bray did not relent though and they pummelled UCD for the remainder of the half but could not extend their advantage.
UCD were still rocking in the second period but then they snatched an equaliser from nowhere as Robbie Creevy and Morrison drifted through a gaping Wanderers defence before the latter curled home a beautiful second.
And 10 minutes later, a tirade down the left flank saw the impressive Ayman Bebn Mohamed release the overlapping Mark Langtry, who cut inside the unfortunate David Webster before finding a gap at Shane Redmond’s near post.
Fast forward 10 more minutes and the Seasiders sunk further into the mire as Shane Redmond saw the red mist descent; shoving Michael Barker to the ground as he tried to delay the goalkeeper taking a free kick. Anthony Buttimer dipped into his back pocket and Redmond was heading for an early shower.
It looked like it had gone from bad to worse for Wanderers but suddenly it went full circle as they landed an 87th minute leveller through a tasty Cassidy finish.
From the jaws of defeat, the Seagulls appeared to have snatched a point. But with the fat lady just beginning to clear her throat, Morrison seized on a knockdown in the penalty area to complete his hattrick and whip the rug from under Bray’s feet.
And worse was to follow as Dean Clarke tapped home the fifth and final goal of the contest for the visitors.
It was an evening that tested logic and tested the strength of the Bray fans’ hearts. Barely a minute had elapsed when Mohamed lead a counter attack, threading Clarke through in the process, but the attacker steered his effort wide.
Morrison showed him how it was done a minute later. Clarke was the provider, escaping down the left flank and delivering the cross. Morrison strode onto the ball and dispatched a side-foot volley to the net.
Unlike Bray sides of old though, this crop are swimming in self-belief. Heads didn’t drop, they went in search of a reply and Jake Kelly’s head almost found it.
Cassidy volleyed the ball towards the penalty area and Kelly’s flicked header sent it just over.
A switch from the right to the left again gave Kelly a shooting chance, this time his left foot was his weapon of choice. His wicked shot was pushed away by Conor O’Donnell and Langtry had to lump it behind with Bray players hungrily awaiting the rebound.
O’Donnell’s luck ran out in the 16th minute. Shane Byrne slid a perfectly weighted pass down the left to send Cassidy clear. He zipped in a cross that Akinade missed but Shane O’Connor met it with emphatic force as he arrived at the back post to make it 1-1.
O’Connor was one of four changes made by Mathews. Also coming into the side were Adam Mitchell, Ismahil Akinade and Cassidy, scorer of Bray’s second.
The ex-Shels ace started the move, sending a booming first-time cross-field ball flying onto the foot of Jake Kelly. The winger killed it and wriggled into enough space to put in a cross and Cassidy was the man arriving to stab the ball past O’Donnell and complete the turnaround.
Having grabbed an assist, Jake Kelly should then have bagged a goal on the half hour mark. Akinade saved a deep free kick and bended a cross towards the far post. The UCD defence had abandoned Kelly but with O’Donnell flapping at thin air, Kelly headed wide much to his disbelief and everyone inside the stadium’s.
Wanderers’ attacking quarter continued to toy with the Students. Just before half time, Cassidy stood with his back to goal but then suddenly his cheeky back-heel sent Akinade sprinting through on goal. The Nigerian born talisman went for power rather than placement though and cleared the sta- dium wall with his effort.
The Carlisle Grounds was abuzz with excitement at the break and when Rocky the Seagull converted his halftime penalty, it seemed like nothing could go wrong for the Wicklow club. If only.
Robbie Creevy was unfortunate not to wipe out Bray’s lead when he broke the offside trap to meet Chris Mulhall’s cross but the midfielder’s outstretched toe diverted the ball over the goal as opposed to into it.
That warning was ignored however and by the 61st minute, the Students were level. Creevy and Morrison were afforded the freedom of the park as they ambled through the Bray defence – Adam Mitchell’s wayward lunge the closest either came to being shackled. The finish was something to be admired as Morrison effortlessly curled the ball over Redmond’s head and into the top corner from 20 yards.
Dave Scully replaced Shane Byrne as Mathews tried to reinvigorate his side. Scully was the guilty party for UCD’s lead goal on 71 minutes though. Mohamed hooked an overhead pass into Langtry’s path and the left-back was already beyond Scully when he latched onto it. He turned inside, skipping by the slipping Webster in the process and then with his weaker right foot, he bulged the near corner of the net.
With his card already marked by three goals conceded, Shane Redmond then truly made it an evening to forget for himself with a red card.
A false dawn was on the horizon though. With 87 minutes showing on the clock, Graham Kelly lifted a pass over the UCD defence, who had missed Cassidy’s run. He deftly lobbed O’Donnell and watched his effort bounce in off the underside of the crossbar to reignite the spark in the Carlisle Grounds.
That spark was quickly extinguished. Robbie Benson’s 90th minute free kick was nodded down by Tomas Boyle and swept home by hat-trick hero Morrison.
And Benson had time to set up another one for the visitors. He burst through the beleaguered Bray defence; shrugging off Webster’s half-hearted attempts before squaring to Clarke to stroke his finish off the inside of the post.
Top Form: David Cassidy (Bray Wanderers): So pleasing on the eye. Didn’t deserve to lose.