Seagulls fall short
Second successive loss a real blow for survival hopes
SLIGO ROVERS BRAY WANDERERS 2 1
A PATCHED up Bray Wanderers side fell short in the Showgrounds on Monday evening to compound a miserable few days for the club.
Facing both Limerick and Sligo - the teams in eighth and ninth going into the weekend’s action - it had the potential to be revive Bray and completely rejuvinate them or deliver a hammer blow to their survival hopes.
It was a hammer blow that Thor would be proud of.
Graham Kelly had his hands tied for the trip West. Aaron Dillon, Paul O’Conor and Gary McCabe were all sidelined while he opted to leave Ronan Coughlan on the bench and hand Ger Pender his first league start in over a year.
Two goals in a six-minute spell in the first half left Bray facing a mammoth task considering that the starting XI had managed just three goals between them in the league prior to Monday.
Cory Galvin did offer a glimmer of hope with nine minutes to play but Bray could not bridge the gap and now sit nine points off ninth spot ahead of high-flying Derry City’s visit on Friday.
With so many personnel changes, Kelly also opted for a new formation. Conor Kenna, Sean Heaney and captain on the night Hugh Douglas made up a back three, Dylan Hayes, Dan McKena, Rhys Gorman and Kevin Lynch operated in midfield and Galvin supported the front pairing of Dan Kelly and Pender.
Moran - whose only other Bray appearance was the 0-3 loss at home to Shels - was called into action early on. Six minutes were on the clock when Brazilian Edu- ardo Pincelli fired in a free kick that Moran pushed away to safety.
Perhaps fatigue played a part, perhaps it was nerves or perhaps it was just two sides very low on confidence - but the match was not a classic.
It wasn’t until the 34th minute that the next noteworthy moment arrived as Dan Kelly broke through but home goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney spread himself and prevented the gangly attacker from firing the visitors ahead.
And Beeney’s save looked all the more vital as his side hit the front a minute later. Ex-Seagull Adam Wixted swung over a cross that Greg Moorehouse nestled into Keaney’s path. He applied the finish for his first ever goal for the Bit O’Red.
Five minutes later, Rovers had one hand on the three points. Wixted supplied the cross again and the Brazilian deftly nodded past Moran for his first League of Ireland strike.
Keaney almost doubled his tally seven minutes into the second period as he fizzed a shot narrowly wide following Rhys McCabe’s flag kick.
Gerard Lyttle’s side very nearly wrapped things up in the 80th minute. Substitute Lewis Morrison saw his volley saved by Moran and Moorehouse’s follow-up was destined for the net until Sean Heaney intervened with a goal-line clearance.
Bray were back in with a shout and had nine minutes to salvage something after Galvin slide the ball under Beeney.
With his squad already stretched, Graham Kelly declined to call upon his substitutes despite having only used one - John Sullivan was the only man in reserve with any meaningful league experience and he is not man to call upon when goals are required.
With Aaron Greene, Darragh Noone and Jake Kelly all facing reasonable spells on the sideline, Kelly will be praying that McCabe and O’Conor are fit for the visit of Derry on Friday.