Seagulls set to make inevitable drop down
BRAY WANDERERS 0 LIMERICK FC 2
AFTER 14 years in the Premier Division, Bray Wanderers’ Premier Division status is hanging by the thinnest of threads.
To avoid automatic relegation to the First Division, the Seagulls would have to win their final four outings while hoping Limerick lose their four outstanding fixtures and a goal difference of 25 would also have to be overturned. To put it in simpler terms; prepare for trips to Cobh, Cabinteely and Athlone in 2019.
The inevitable will become reality next week when their relegation is finally confirmed but Wanderers failed to give their fans what might have been one last hurrah in the Premier as they tamely submitted to ninth placed Limerick.
Gary Cronin made three changes for the visit of the Shannonsiders; two enforced and one tactical. Evan Moran’s head injury ruled him out despite him wanting to play while Darragh Gibbons was only deemed fit enough for the bench. Mark O’Connor and Jamie Crilly were their replacements. Also dropping out of the starting XI was Ger Pender as Jake Ellis was preferred to him.
There was an anxious moment for the aforementioned full debutant Jamie Crilly in the eighth minute as he almost helped Limerick to an opener. An attempted onetwo from Limerick was ambitious and Crilly looked set to sweep up the danger but his slice fell to Karl O’Sullivan who slammed it back in and a flying save from Mark O’Connor was required to tip it around the post.
Sean Harding registered one of the very few shots Bray had after 13 minutes when he drove into the penalty area from the right-hand side but his shot was always rising as it sailed over the crossbar.
Some slapstick defending from the Seagulls handed the visitors the opener. No defender tracked Shane Duggan’s darting run as he latched onto a pass in the penalty area. O’Connor rushed from his goal and was beaten by Duggan who kept his balance and squared it for Maguire who tapped home as the inquest began in the home defence.
Limerick flirted with a second just two minutes later as he chased down a through-ball but with a defender hot on his heels and O’Connor narrowing the angles, the no. 10 could only find the side netting via a deflection.
O’Connor was called into action again on 23 minutes. Shane Tracy pinged in a cross from the left and it was unclear whether Maguire was trying to head it back across goal or find the goal himself but in the end he merely cushioned it into the gloves of O’Connor.
A Limerick corner produced their next opportunity but Killian Cantwell didn’t have the right direction on his header after meeting Murphy’s corner.
A Bray corner kick almost cost them a goal in the 27th minute. The short corner to Kevin Lynch saw his cross cleared quickly and Limerick broke two-on-two. Shane Duggan pushed it forward for Cantwell who tried to return the pass but his attempted back-heel was unnecessarily over-elaborate and Bray cut it out.
When Limerick did grab their second goal, Bray once again shouldered a rather large portion of the blame. O’Sullivan’s cross from the right was ready by Conor Kenna but instead of putting his foot through it; he put it on it and Connor Ellis reacted quickly to accept the gift-wrapped chance and double Limerick’s lead.
Wanderers had enjoyed a halfchance prior to Limerick’s second as a result of some nice football. Sean Heaney sprayed a cross-field pass out to the right where Sean Harding controlled with aplomb. He whipped in a cross for Jake Ellis but the club’s youngest ever player snatched at his volley and ended up slicing it away from goal.
Bray Wanderers: 40. Mark O’Connor; 31. Sean Harding, 4. Conor Kenna,
5. Sean Heaney, 30. Jamie Crilly; 22. Darragh Noone, 14. Rhys Gorman, 6. Paul O’Conor, 3. Kevin Lynch; 11. Jake Kelly;
24. Jake Ellis. Subs: Ger Pender for Jake Kelly (36); John Sullivan for O’Conor (69); Byron O’Gorman for Crilly (77). Not used: Jack Kelly, Darragh Gibbons, Dragos Mamaliga, Glen Hollywood.
Limerick FC: 30. Tommy Holland;
2. Shaun Kelly, 3. Killian Cantwell, 15. Killian Brouder, 11. Shane Tracy; 22. Karl O’Sullivan, 8. Shane Duggan, 24. Darren Murphy, 6. Cian Coleman; 77. Barry Maguire; 10. Connor Ellis. Subs: William Fitzgerald for Coleman (71); Danny Morrissey for Maguire (80). Not used: Jack Brady, Colm Walsh O’Laghlan, Adam Foley, Aaron Fitzgerald, Colman Kennedy.