Bray Emmets prove too good for Pearse Gaels

BRAY EMMETS PEARSE GAELS 4-11 2-7

IT was not the start Pearse Gaels nor indeed Wicklow GAA would have wanted as Bray Emmets bulldozed through their patchedup opponents.

Comprised of players from Newtown, Ashford and Kilcoole, the Gaels could only pull together 12 players for this Division 2 opener and they were chasing their tail almost straight from throw-in.

Jack Elliot may have slotted over a point for the visitors after just 30 seconds but it was a false dawn as by the second minute, Emmets had racked up two goals.

David Maloney bagged the opening goal as he put the head down and stormed straight through the middle before drilling into the top corner. It was a sign of things to come.

Jason Gallagher’s restart didn’t make it to the halfway line as Bray won it as Maloney combined with Brian Nesbitt and Jack Treacy to put it on a plate for Zack Collins and his finish found the net via the inside of the post.

Gaels slowly recovered and proved that they weren’t flat-lining when Elliot popped over his second of the evening. Elliot then set-up Andreas Fallon Verbruggen but despite their encouraging attacking play, they could not stem the waves and waves of Bray attacks.

Gaels were thankful for Bray’s wastefulness. On 12 minutes, a long ball out of the Bray defence was collected by Maloney who dropped deep. Spurred on by his first goal, he set his sat-nav for the goal again and drove forward but his radar was off the mark this time as he fired wide.

It took until the 13th minute for Bray to register their first attempt at a point - they only had eyes for goals early on after their explosive start.

Sam Kearney and Treacy landed their first points - assisted by Nesbitt and Collins respectively - before Nesbitt spurned a wonderful goal chance. The number 14 would endure a frustrating evening in front of the posts.

A bruising run from Cian Walsh saw him try his luck from 25 yards and his shot dipped at the last moment and fortuitously found the net which meant that, despite almost completely dominating, wasteful Bray were only four points ahead and had managed the same amount of scores as their opponents.

Nesbitt, who had been left completely free for his earlier chance, found himself in acres of space again in the 18th minute. The attacker was clearly jinxed though as he struck the woodwork with his initial effort and the rebound as that goal continued to allude him.

Maloney fed David Martin for Bray’s next opportunity but - for the third time in four minutes - Bray were left cursing the post.

Nesbitt would be foiled by the impressive Jason Gallagher as the interval approached but they finally found a third goal before the break.

The weight on Rory Whealan’s pass was absolutely beautiful and made life very easy for Zack Collins who slotted it home.

In the second half, a quick free from David Martin presented Sam Kearney with a goal chance but he was denied by a smart save.

Maloney and Martin added a point apiece in quick succession as Bray began to ram home their dominance but in a flash, Pearse Gaels pulled a goal back to keep nagging away at the back of Bray’s minds.

Cian Walsh provided the lay-off to James Crean and his finish left Evan Barry with no chance.

David Maloney was brilliant but also misfiring and it saw him receive quite a few scoldings from his watching mammy who grew and more despondent with each miss. Brothers Daire and Luke have left him with a lot to live up to.

Maloney did keep the sideline happy when he emphatically added his side’s fourth goal on a night when Bray got the job done but left themselves with room for improvement.

Evan Barry, Conor Hardiman, Rory Mulcahy, Michael Timmons, Rory Whealan, Oisin Hayde, Philip Jacob, Sam Kearney, Mark Cullen, David Martin, David Maloney, Zack Collins, Tadhg McCarthy, Brian Nesbitt, Jack Treacy, Stephen Reynolds, Sean Ryan, Conor Murphy, Jamie Ryan.

Jason Gallagher, Stephen Doran, Cole Kelly, Evan Vines, Brian Devereux, Jack Elliot, Ross Carty, Cian Walsh, Andreas Fallon Verbruggen, Dillon Fitzsimons, Adam Crean, James Crean.

Con Keddy.