Bray Wanderers 0

Galway United 0

Cian O’Connell reports from the Carlisle Grounds 

WITH THE STAKES piled high at the Carlisle Grounds this proved to be a real battle in bitterly cold conditions.

Ultimately the issue is delicately poised entering Sunday’s second-leg at Eamonn Deacy Park.

That will be another revealing encounter for two evenly matched outfits.

Unsurprisingly it was a tight opening period, but both teams did craft opportunities.

Early on Mikie Rowe fizzed an effort over the bar as Galway sought to land a blow.

At the opposite end of the pitch Brandon Kavanagh supplied glimpses of his considerable talent with the attacking midfielder unfortunate not to score.

In the 32nd minute Bray goalkeeper Brian Maher gathered a Ruairi Keating header following smart approach work by David Hurley and Conor O’Keeffe.

After the restart Joe Gorman and Mikie Rowe went close for the visitors’ as it remained extremely hard fought.

Conor McCormack’s midfield industry was a key feature in the game and a similarly tense tussle beckons in the west at the weekend.

BRAY WANDERERS: Maher; Byrne, Quinn, Barry, Jones (Lovic, 55); Clifford, O’Farrell; Graydon, Kavanagh, Doyle; Kavanagh; Shaw (Craven, 72).

GALWAY UNITED: Kearns; O’Keeffe, Nugent, Gorman, Walsh; McCormack, Boylan (Doherty, 76), Hurley; Rowe, Waweru (Cunningham, 76), Keating.

REFEREE: Gavin Colfer.