Bray batten down hatches again
WHENEVER Bray Wanderers have taken a lead this season they have battened down the hatches and ridden out any storms that blow up. True to form, they got their noses in front at the Carlisle Grounds last night and then avoided having it bloodied to reach the semi-finals of the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup for the first time since 2009. The result was perhaps harsh on Killester United who created a cluster of chances and were worth an equaliser before Dave Scully’s decisive second goal just before the hour swept the tie beyond them. For Bray, their early-season strife is a thing of the past. Under canny Mick Cooke, their fourth manager of the year, they are almost safe in the Premier Division and will be aware that Monday’s Cup draw offers intriguing possibilities. With the Aviva only 90 minutes away, could Bray possibly celebrate the 25th anniversary of their FAI Cup breakthrough with a repeat win? Should they do so, it would match the most magical stories of the famous old competition. On a night most foul, a glistening pitch and blustery conditions suggested this dual of the DART was ripe for an upset. Such an eventuality seemed unlikely after Bray struck in the seventh minute, when Hugh Douglas, tall and rangy, headed powerfully into the net, from Ryan McEvoy’s corner. Lesser non-leaguers might have folded up their tents and called it a night but Killester regrouped. Moving the ball about slickly, their work-rate in the engine room was outstanding and David Lacey was a handful in attack, as he peeled away from defenders and repeatedly found gaps in the defence. Mick Keogh smacked a right-footer against the butt of the Bray upright in the 26th minute and Lacey was then thwarted by the legs of Peter Cherrie as Killester pressed for an equaliser just before the break. Playing into the wind and driving rain in the second half, Killester’s prospects seemed grim. But twice they rattled Bray, first through Alan Talbot, who dallied with his shot, and then the energetic Keogh whose shot caught Alan McNally in the face. Bray had gone close through Michael Barker’s wind-assisted rasper before Scully struck with a downward header at the far post following a David Cassidy cross. There was half an hour still to be played, but Bray had enough cuteness about them to repel all boarders. Chris Lyons struck the crossbar for Cooke’s crew before the energetic Keogh tested Cherrie with a daisy-cutter but it was all Bray in the final moments as Cassidy and substitute Emeka Onwubiko were denied by goalkeeper Keith Donoghue as Bray’s season gathered further momentum. Few would have imagined that after the Seagulls lost their first five games of the season and cries of anguish carried over Bray Head.