Seagulls struggle
Shels confidently dump Bray out of the League Cup
BRAY WANDERERS SHELBOURNE 0 3
IT was a night to forget for Bray Wanderers, Paul O’Conor and any Seagulls fans that contributed to the 208 in attendance.
A run in the EA Sports Cup could have proved the perfect distraction for the struggling Co. Wicklow club but they were outfought and outclassed by First Division side Shelbourne.
Dave Mackey made nine changes to his starting XI but Owen Heary made eight so there can be no excuses.
Former Wanderers back-up goalkeeper Lee Steacy enjoyed a start between the posts for Shels and he wont’ enjoy many easier evenings than Monday’s.
His biggest involvement came in the 20th minute. Jake Ellis - Bray’s youngest ever player - held the ball up well and threw in some silky skills before feeding captain for the night O’Conor. His 22-yard drive stung the palms of Steacy but he held it well.
It was a night to forget for the stand-in captain.
“It’s disappointing to be out of a cup competition. Obviously we would have liked to have build some momentum from it but we couldn’t.
“Morale is a bit low at the moment - no doubt about it - but nobody’s going to pick it up for us. We have to pick it up ourselves. We’ve got the champions coming on Friday so there’s no rest really.
“We have to pick it up. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to try to somehow dig ourselves out of it and come good on the other side of it.”
Shels hit the front on 24 minutes. A hanging, deep cross from the left was met by James English. It looked like the winger was trying to nod it back across goal but it looped past the despairing dive of Evan Moran who may not enjoy watching the replay.
Five minutes later, Shels put Bray’s cup hopes in jeopardy. English turned provider this time as he centered the ball from the right flank and Gavin Boyne finished neatly from 15 yards.
Wanderers winger Daniel Kelly was up in arms in the 32nd minute when he was sent tumbling in the Shels box but referee Alan Carey wasn’t interested in the Bray man’s appeals.
Eight minutes later, it was English crying out for a spot kick. Not only did he not get a 12-yarder, he also got a booking for his troubles as Carey deemed his fall to be a false one.
In the first few seconds of the second period, Bray summed up their season to date.
Calvin Rogers sensibly decided to head a long ball back to Moran. He got it wrong though and it was bouncing out for a corner. Moran tried to prevent it so he slid towards it but only succeeded in both handling it outside the box and dragging it out of play anyway.
The incident didn’t knock Rogers’ confidence at least as a minute later he nutmegged his man for one of the only minor victories Bray enjoyed.
Club captain Gary McCabe was called for in the 58th minute but three minutes later; the tie was done and dusted.
Jamie Doyle embarked on a fine run which carried him into Bray’s half before he sprayed it to the right wing for O’Sullivan.
The Wicklow Town native dug out a cross and English rose highest to nod it in off the foot of the post.
The upset almost became an embarrassment but thankfully from Bray’s perspective, O’Sullivan’s 75th minute strike was foiled by the crossbar.
The problems at Bray are not rocket science says O’Conor and it is up to him and his team-mates to change things around.
“We’re obviously conceding a lot of goals and not scoring enough. It’s a bad situation and we need to improve ourselves. It’s players’ stuff. There are some things we have to figure out ourselves. We really do need to step it up and step it up fast or else this league will get away from us quickly.
“The first thing we need to do now is get a win on the board and hopefully try and build it from there.”