LEAGUE OF IRELAND PREMIER DIVISION: Bray Wanderers 0 St Patrick's Ath 1WITH THESE two having scored as many between them prior to last night as Bohemians have in the league, few can have paid their admission expecting a night of rampaging strikers.
In fact, the neutrals must have been thankful for the moment of improvisation by Declan O’Brien that brought the goal, because there was precious little else to recommend an encounter between a young side that will have improve dramatically soon if it is to avoid the drop and one that, for all its injury problems this season, had sufficient quality on show here to merit a far better performance.
O’Brien’s goal, just short of a half hour in, came when he was picked out swiftly on the left with a long pass out of defence by Dave Partridge, and reacted quickly to seeing Chris O’Connor looking a little lost midway between him and the goal.
Sadly, few of the countless other long balls played by the visitors over the 90 minutes were nearly so accurate, and the locals seemed happy to play their part in what resembled, for stretches, a long-range game of ping pong.
St Patrick’s defence has consistently looked vulnerable, something Eddie Gormley’s men must have been well aware of given that they had scored three times against the Inchicore outfit in the sides’ previous two meetings this season.
Last night, though, they scarcely forced Brendan Clarke into a save worthy of the name, with Dane Massey’s firm drive straight at the goalkeeper from much the same place O’Brien had been when he scored as good as it got.
Really, though, the visitors did little better up front. True, they showed a little more urgency than opponents, who are three points adrift at the foot of the table, when they had to, and they did mange a few spells of more composed passing football. But they rarely produced anything to show for their general superiority.
Mark Quigley made little impact, while O’Brien, having scored his first goal for the club outside of European competition, drifted through things until being replaced by Mark Lester eight minutes from time.
The two strikers did nearly combine towards the end, but Quigley couldn’t make contact with the cross, while Ryan Guy tried to replicate the goal at one stage in the second half only to see his attempt bounce into the side-netting.
Having witnessed a better performance on Friday night against Cork City, however, Pete Mahon will be happy just to have taken the points.
BRAY WANDERERS: O'Connor; Pender, Deans (Webster, 80 mins), Foran, Massey; Coughlan (Tuohy, 69 mins), Mulcahy, Shields, McCabe; Kelly (Brennan (half-time), Flood.
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Clarke; Lynch, Gavin, Partridge, Stevens; Guy, Byrne, Dempsey, D Ryan (Ryan, 82 mins); Quigley (Leech, 89 mins), O'Brien (Lester, 82 mins).
Referee: David McKeon (Dublin)
