We take a look at the 2018 Seagulls squad
Hayes and Co. enjoy Bray’s opening training session
IT is a case of better late than never for Dylan Hayes who has finally joined his boyhood club Bray Wanderers.
The 22-year-old is a former season ticket holder and mascot for the Seagulls and now, in his fourth year in the League of Ireland, the Bray native will get to run out at the Carlisle Grounds on a regular basis.
The ex-Derby County starlet was on trial with Harry Kenny’s side last term but a knee injury before a pre-season friendly brought his hopes of joining his local club to an end. Hayes had been closely monitoring the situation at the Co. Wicklow club over the off-season and jumped at the chance to join Dave Mackey’s side.
“I’m delighted to get the deal done and get going. I’ve been a supporter from a very young age. As a kid supporting Bray, it always was a dream to play for Bray and now i’m absolutely delighted to be involved with the club!”
After returning from Derby, Hayes joined Keith Long at Athlone Town in a bid to keep them in the top flight but it was unsuccesful. Long would bring Hayes to Bohemians with him where he spent three years but now that he is with Bray, he is looking forward to the chance of playing in front of friends and family each week.
“Yeah of course, that’s always been on my mind! Hopefully I can hit the ground running and get myself into the team!
“I signed for Athlone for the last series of games following my return from England and although I was only there for a short period it still hurt an awful lot to be relegated. It’s definitely something i never want to experience again!”
Hayes, predominantly a rightback, had the misfortune of competing with Bohemians club captain Derek Pender for his favoured position but he still got plenty of minutes thanks in no small part to his versatility.
“Yeah I suppose you could say I wasn’t a certainty to start every week at Bohs due to Pender, who is an excellent footballer, starting ahead of me however I did end up playing a good bit. I always took my chance when it came and played in roughly 20 games a season or so. I did really enjoy my three years at Bohs but i think it was the right time for a fresh start.
I have played a lot of my football at right-back in recent years but I’m also comfortable in midfield where i played on occasion for Bohs. There is competition at every club! It’s always healthy to have competition which gets the best out of players and competition pushes players to be better because everybody wants to be in that starting 11 come 7:45 on a Friday night!”.
Modern day full-backs can be critisiced for focussing too much on attacking but Hayes loves nothing more than a healthy tackle as most League of Ireland referees know and he is excited about the team-mates around him thus far.
“I enjoy both aspects of fullback but I really do relish defend- ing. I love a good test and being up again quality opposition. And I do love a tackle! I do enjoy getting forward and getting involved in attacks but I’m still waiting for my first League of Ireland goal!
“I think Dave Mackey has done a great job to keep the core of last year’s squad together and added some more quality to it too.
“There is a lot of good players within the squad and we just can’t wait until our first match on the 16th of February, away to Dundalk, but a lot of hard work has to be done between now and then!”
Other names signed up for the new season are as follows:
HUGH DOUGLAS
It will be the all-action defenders’ fourth campaign for Bray Wanderers.
The former FAI International Schools Player of the Year is happy at centre-half or right-back.
He ensured a frustrating season in 2017 as injury ruled him out for a large spell and he was then unable to force his way back into the team - limiting him to just 20 starts.
At 24 years of age, Douglas’ best years are still ahead of him. He’ll be hoping to reproduce his 2015 form which saw him claim the club’s player and young player of the year awards.
CONOR KENNA
He may be entering the autumn of his career but with over 400 League of Ireland appearances to his name, a man like Conor Kenna is very important to have around.
Kenna was the club captain in 2017 and although nothing has been confirmed by Mackey, he will be a leading candidate for the skipper’s role in 2018 too. The centre-half always leads by example and is a very strong voice in the dressing room.
The Dubliner will turn 34 shortly after the end of the season so it could well be his final time doing this.
DARRAGH GIBBONS
At 19 years of age, Darragh is definitely one for the future. The ex-Templeogue United man joined Shamrock Rovers U-19’s for the 2014/15 season and has remained at Tallaght Stadium up until now.
He was a regular for the Hoops’ underage squad throughout his stint and made the first team’s bench on numerous occasions but didn’t make his competitive debut until February of 2017 in a Leinster Senior Cup tie away to Thomastown United. Gibbons is a central defender.
SEAN HEANEY
Heaney will turn 22 this month and has already amassed considerable League of Ireland experience.
He signed for Shamrock Rovers from St. Kevin’s Boys for the 2013/14 season and managed a handful of games in the Leinster Senior Cup in his debut season.
He regraded to the ‘B’ team for the 2014 season, making 16 league appearances but also managed four outings for the first team that term which included scoring in a 2-1 win over Bray.
Heaney spent 2015 on loan with Shels which saw him earn 25 apperances and net twice, while 2016 he again scored twice - this time in 15 apperances - including both legs of a Europa League clash.
Heaney was on loan with Waterford in 2017.
KEVIN LYNCH
Lynch has racked up a season and a half with Bray Wanderers and is under contract for 2018.
The former Sheriff YC ace took the league by storm when he joined in the summer of 2016 with his overlapping runs and wicked deliveries. Lynch is well-built for a full-back and will have a few points to prove this year as his 2017 completely failed to live up to expectatios and he found himself benched in favour of midfielder Karl Moore.
JOHN SULLIVAN
He turned 27 on Saturday and celebrated it with a new deal at his sixth League of Ireland club.
The one they call ‘Truck’ is definitely more suited to the defensive side of midfield as he charges around breaking things up and keeping it simple. Sullivan was at Bray in 2015 but declined a fresh deal with the Seagulls in favour of Galway United but after a few months in Connact he returned to Co. Wicklow. Can be an outstanding leader on his day.
PAUL O’CONOR
At 30, O’Conor will bring experiece to what is expected to be a young side. He can play in defence or midfield which should prove to be a great asset to Mackey and he has a tendency to pop up with important goals here and there.
His former employers are UCD, Drogheda United, Sligo Rovers, Limerick and St. Patrick’s Athletic. He was with Limerick for two and a half years before being allowed to leave last summer. Pat’s recognised what he could bring and acted swiftly to recruit him and he played a starring role as they avoided relegation.
GARY MCCABE
Last season’s top scorer is back to try and defend his golden boot.
The Dubliner - brother of Republic of Ireland WNT captain Katie - enjoyed a phenomenal start to 2017 and topped the goalscoring charts for a while before being eclipsed by Sean Maguire.
His form badly suffered following the off-field shenanigans and the goals dried up.
McCabe likes to play behind the striker and will be hoping to recapture his early form from last season.
JAKE KELLY
Third time is a charm? 27-yearold Jake Kelly is back for his third spell at the Carlisle Grounds.
A product of the Joey’s structure, 26 goals in his first stint at the club earned him a contract at Inchicore and a league winner’s medal with Pat’s. After just four league starts that year, Kelly returned to Bray and notched five goals in 22 games - enough of an impression to seal a move to Dundalk.
Again, gametime was hard to come by so Kelly switched to Bohs midway through that season and for 2017, he plied his trade in the First Division with an underwhelm- ing spell at Longford Town.
DARRAGH NOONE
The one-man club is committed to another season at the Carlise Grounds. He graduated from the U-19’s in April 2016 as he made his senior debut against Shamrock Rovers and he would manage two league goals in his debut season.
Noone established himself as a real contendor last year and in many games he would get the nod over vastly more experienced men as he yet again enjoyed the habit of popping up with a few goals.
The gangly midfielder has impressive footwork and if he could bulk up it would massively improve his game as he can be bullied but there is undoubtedly bundles of potential for the 20-year-old.
GER PENDER
The 23-year-old was probably the most frustrated man in Ireland in 2017. Having broke club records in 2016, the local lad couldn’t get a sniff of action last year with Anto Flood and Aaron Greene preferred ahead of him in the pecking order.
He was restricted to just six starts in all competitions and failed to hit the net once as he was left kicking his heels on the bench.
It was a bit of a surprise to see him return this time around. He’ll be hoping for another record-breaking season rather than looking like a broken record.
AARON GREENE
He could still start the 2018 season in the colours of another club but for the time being, Aaron Greene is a Bray Wanderers player.
Having started out on the flank, Greene established himself as the club’s talisman in the absence of Anto Flood and would hit the net 12 times for the Seagulls.
If Mackey can keep him happy and motivated, he will be a gargantuan asset but Mackey has already gone on record to say that if someone isn’t committed to his squad then they won’t be welcome in his squad. Watch this space.
JAKE ELLIS
The club’s youngest ever player. The English-born attacker made his debut against Drogheda United in August and went on to make three more substitute appearances.
He has bags of potential but you would suspect he faces a season of limited game time and the odd cup apperance. Goalkeepers: None. Defenders: Dylan Hayes, Hugh Douglas, Conor Kenna, Darragh Gibbons, Sean Heaney, Kevin Lynch.
Midfielders: John Sullivan, Paul O’Conor, Gary McCabe, Jake Kelly, Darragh Noone.
Attackers: Ger Pender, Aaron Greene, Jake Ellis.