It's not hard to imagine what the atmosphere is like in Bray this week as Pat Devlin's players prepare for the visit of Derry City. The club still has a huge amount to play for in the league but, right now, the fact they came away from the FA Cup match in Dalymount Park on Friday night feeling they had been robbed once again must make it difficult to focus on the battle for a place in Europe.
It's easy to sympathise with their plight after the 2-1 defeat, easier still after Bohemians were rewarded for their win with a quarter-final draw they see as winnable. That Bray again find themselves pointing a finger at others for their misfortune will not dispel the bitterness that lingered after last year's semi-final at the same venue.
On this occasion the referee is taking all of the blame from the defeated club which, to some extent, is understandable. In the league, refereeing decisions have a way of evening themselves out over the season but in a cup game a couple of bad calls is all it takes to send a club out of a competition.
On Friday night Bray got the short end of the stick twice from Aidan O'Regan. First, the Corkman missed a handball by Mark Rutherford inside his own area and not long afterwards he gave a ridiculously harsh free against John Walsh for picking up what he felt was a back pass.
To be fair, O'Regan was having a tough night. Devlin himself had done a great deal before the match to build it up as an opportunity to gain revenge for the blatant wrongs done to them before and during last year's semi-final. By the time of the Bohemians winner the referee had also done Bray one favour by failing to send Dave Campbell off for what was blatantly a second bookable offence just three minutes after he had been given a yellow card for gesturing at the home side's supporters after his 12th-minute goal.
Having sent Eddie Gormley and Devlin off, neither of whom had much complaint, he was to do them two more favours. Alex Nesovic was unfortunate to be dismissed and Philip Keogh escaped a red card despite two crazy lunging tackles in quick succession. In the dying moments O'Regan made his worst mistake when he sent off Stephen Fox for a minor foul on Rutherford as a result of mistaking him for Jody Lynch who, he indicated, had been guilty of a succession of such offences.
From a neutral's point of view it looks a staggering way for an important game involving two of our leading clubs to be decided. From Bray's it must be incredibly disappointing, particularly given their record in recent seasons and that they have shown themselves capable of beating anybody on their day over the past few months.
Two weeks ago, having gone a goal down to St Patrick's Athletic, they had Wesley Charles sent off. That night there were no complaints about either the goal or the sending off and, perhaps as a result of that, Devlin's men knuckled down, equalised and eventually came within a whisker of winning the game through Barry O'Connor.
When the dust settles on Friday's acrimonious game, they will surely come to wish, rather losing their grip on things in the way the object of their anger did, they had kept their heads and remained focused on doing the same again.
emalone@irish-times.ie
