National League, Premier Division/Shelbourne 5 Bray Wanderers 0: A hat-trick for former Bray striker Jason Byrne brought his tally of goals for the season to 21 and with it a very probable third leading scorers' award in succession.

Despite this rout, though, wins for top two Cork City and Derry City - which leave a six-point gap intact - mean that Shelbourne's title is surely gone now.

Perhaps all too conscious of Cork's win earlier in the evening, Shelbourne struggled to impose their game on a hard-working Bray as their play lacked cohesion and fluidity for much of the first half.

Gary O'Neill and Wes Hoolahan had half-chances before Shelbourne's promising start faded with Wanderers looking well up for the task at hand, epitomised by Stephen Fox showing his strength to out-muscle Colin Hawkins and toe wide on 12 minutes.

The first real bit of football arrived six minutes later and should have seen Shelbourne in front.

Byrne's sublime ball split the Wicklow side's defence, but Bobby Ryan, having shown good feet to cut past a defender, managed to give Bray Wanderers goalkeeper Chris O'Connor a simple save.

The frustration mounted for the reigning champions as Byrne somehow missed from yards out after Ollie Cahill had picked him out.

Byrne would soon redeem himself by bringing an agile save from O'Connor with a header from another Cahill cross before giving Shelbourne the lead on 26 minutes.

O'Connor pulled down O'Neill and Byrne blasted home the resultant penalty.

The final minute of the half would end the game as a real contest as Bray right back Stephen Gifford, booked just minutes earlier, was sent off for a bad challenge on Ryan, necessitating the Shelbourne winger's removal from the pitch on a stretcher and off to hospital with a suspected broken right ankle.

O'Connor then frustrated Shelbourne in the early part of a one-sided second half with stops from Byrne, twice, and O'Neill before the game was killed off with a second goal on 66 minutes. Hoolahan put Byrne through to square the ball for Dave Rogers, who finished with aplomb off his weaker right foot.

Byrne then took over, adding his second goal on 76 minutes after Colin Hawkins won a header. Owen Heary's cross wasn't cut out by Brian McGovern to gift Byrne his hat-trick a minute later.

Alan Moore set up fellow substitute Glen Crowe to tap in the fifth 11 minutes from the full time whistle time to wrap it up for the Dublin side.

SHELBOURNE: Delaney; Heary, Hawkins, Rogers, Cahill; Ryan (Moore, half-time), Ndo, Crawford (Fleming, 20 mins.), Hoolahan; O'Neill (Crowe, 71 mins), J Byrne.

BRAY WANDERERS: O'Connor; Gifford, Roche, McGovern, W. Tyrrell ; Long, Tresson, Caffrey, Keogh (W Byrne, half-time); Murphy (O'Reilly, 76 mins), Fox.

Referee: P Tuite (Dublin).