Shamrock Rovers 2
Bray Wanderers 0
SHAMROCK ROVERS RETURNED to winning ways tonight in Tallaght Stadium, beating Bray Wanderers 2-0 thanks to goals from Killian Brennan and Dean Clarke.
If the Rovers fans came to Tallaght expecting a response from their team after last week’s loss to Dundalk, they were left deflated after a first half that failed to ever excite.
Bray started on the front foot, with Dylan Connolly and Karl Moore pushing on from their wide positions, while both Andrew Lewis and Ger Pender caused some nervy moments in the home defence.
However, Barry Murphy was not troubled, and a Killian Brennan shot that flew over Peter Cherrie’s crossbar after 15 minutes was the first attempt of any kind.
Cherrie then palmed away a teasing Stephen McPhail cross before saving well when Simon Madden fizzed a low ball in from the right.
Bray’s good shape was only really exposed when Gary McCabe and Brandon Miele stayed wide for Rovers, but at the break, the fans were left to reflect on a game that had featured no shots on target and little else to talk about.
Thankfully, at least for the travelling fans, it only took Bray three minutes after the break to force a save from Murphy when Lewis shot goalwards, but the game reverted to its first-half status of being a dull affair soon after that.
The tie desperately needed a spark, and it got it on 65 minutes when Sean Harding was sent off for hauling down Dean Clarke on the edge of the box.
From the resulting free kick, Killian Brennan drove a low shot past Cherrie, and the Hoops made sure of the points with seven minutes remaining, when Madden teed up Dean Clarke to shoot low across Cherrie into the bottom corner.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Murphy, Madden, G Brennan, Cornwall, Webster, K Brennan, Cregg (North, 65), McPhail, McCabe, Miele, D Clarke (T Clarke, 85).
Subs: Hyland, Heaney, Purdy, T Clarke, McCaffrey, North, Boyd.
BRAY WANDERERS: Cherrie, Kenna, Harding, McNally, Marks, Moore, Connolly (Salmon, 82), R Brennan, Creevy, Pender (Noone, 84), Lewis (McDonagh, 66).
Subs: Shanahan, Murphy, Salmon, Blackbyrne, Noble, Noone, McDonagh.
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