Another Premier scalp for the Seagulls
Ellis strikes late to secure victory for Bray over Waterford
WATERFORD FC 1 BRAY WANDERERS 2
BRAY WANDERERS secured their second Premier Division scalp of the pre-season after a last-minute strike from Jake Ellis gave the Seagulls a 2-1 success at a bitterly cold RSC on Saturday afternoon last
Shamrock Rovers were the first to fall on Gary Cronin’s sword and Waterford followed suit as the Co. Wicklow club came up against Kevin Lynch; a stalwart for the club over the past couple of seasons who has since joined forces with Waterford.
It was a trialist that could have given Waterford a near-perfect start inside five minutes when he got on the end of a right-wing Maxi Kouogun cross, but his low shot was deflected wide before former Blues player Derek Daly got free at the other end only to see his goalbound effort blocked by Kenny Browne.
Bray went close again on 12 minutes when Daly whipped in a free kick from the left that picked out the head of Joe Doyle, but his header wide over the bar before Doyle had another chance soon afterwards however his effort was saved by the Waterford keeper.
The visitors from the Carlisle Grounds broke the deadlock with 22 minutes on the clock when Derek Daly caused problems to the Waterford defence again and after Joe Doyle’s first shot was saved, the centre forward made no mistake with the rebound.
Maxi Kouogun went close to levelling the tie for the Blues on 40 minutes when he got on the end of a Cory Galvin free kick, but he headed over before the Blues levelled seconds later when Bastien Héry set up a trialist, who beat Gabriel Sava with a neat finish.
Joe Doyle could have regained the lead for Bray with the first chance of the second half on 56 minutes when he raced clear on goal, but his right-footed shot was inches wide of the far post before Kevin Lynch sent over a cross from the left nine minutes later however a trialist headed over from an advanced position.
Dean O’Halloran had a great chance to put the Blues in front on 67 minutes when he took a pass from Dean Walsh on the right-side of the penalty area, but his shot was wide of the far post before Rory Feely got on the end of a Kevin Lynch corner kick four minutes later however his closerange header went over the bar.
Zack Elbouzedi brought a fine save out of the Bray Wanderers ‘keeper Adam Hayden on 83 minutes when he picked up possession of the ball out on the leftside of the area, but his first-time shot was straight down the throat of the netminder.
As time ticked down in injury time, Bray scored a late winner when Jake Ellis found space for himself out on the left-side of the penalty area to take a pass from Dragos Mamaliga and he tucked the ball under the body of the Blues keeper with referee Pat O’Connor sounding the final whistle seconds later.
WATERFORD FC: Trialist A; Maxi Kouogun, Kenny Browne, Damien Delaney, Kevin Lynch; Shane Duggan, JJ Lunney, Bastien Héry; Cory Galvin, Trialist B, Trialist C. Subs: John Martin for JJ Lunney (33); Trialist D for Trialist C (H/T); Dean O’Halloran for Trialist B (H/T); Zack Elbouzedi for Hery (60); Dean Walsh for Galvin (60); Rory Feely for Browne (66). BRAY WANDERERS: Gabriel Sava; Luke Nolan, Trialist A, Sean Heaney, Dylan Barnett; Derek Daly, Paul Keegan, Luka Lovic, Dylan McGlade; Philip Gannon; Joe Doyle. Subs: Dragos Mamaliga for Barnett (57); Adam Hayden for Sava (71); Jake Ellis for Gannon (75); Andy McGovern for Daly (88). REFEREE: Pat O’Connor.