The villain on Tuesday when he was sent off for the fourth time this season, Richie Foran turned hero at Tolka Park last night where he scored twice, bringing his total for the season to 10, and set up the other for Shelbourne as the champions went 12 points clear at the top.
Arriving in Drumcondra with a 100 per cent record over their hosts this season, Wanderers again did enough to show that they are an accomplished outfit. Better teams have come here and lost, though even the best would have struggled to cope with the 20 year-old striker in this form.
If it started scrappily then the increasingly competitive edge the match took on as the first half progressed did at least provide an element of excitement. The approach clearly suited the visitors. Bray showed against St Patrick's Athletic during the week that they're quite prepared to get involved if the situation demands it.
Shelbourne looked the more threatening although a neat James Keddy chip that hopped harmlessly off the top of the crossbar was as close as the champions came to scoring in the first half. After that, Wanderers always seemed to have a body on hand to make a block at the crucial moment and often the torso in question belonged to Jody Lynch. Through much of those opening stages the football was poor, with the ball spending far too much of the time in the air. Bray did manage to contribute a couple of fine passing movements, the best of which ended with Paul Keegan claiming a penalty after Declan Geoghegan had taken the ball cleanly enough but Owen Heary appeared to have tripped his man.
The finishing was poor too, at least until three minutes into the second half when Shelbourne took the lead. Eddie Gormley's error prompted an attack in which Jim Crawford and Pat Fenlon were both keen to lend a hand. It was Dessie Baker's cross that set it up, however, and Foran's sweeping finish that left Walsh with no chance of making the save.
Ten minutes later it looked over. Foran this time set Keddy up for a side-footed strike from six yards out and even as the ball was being picked out of the back of the net, the home side's record suggested that a 2-0 lead wasn't going to be easily wrestled away from them.
Having come from behind and then gone close to winning at Inchicore, however, Bray clearly weren't going to be deterred. Far from timidly accepting defeat Pat Devlin threw Mick Doohan into the attack and Wanderers set about dragging themselves back into it. When a quickly-taken throw down the left led to Barry O'Connor pulling a goal back it almost seemed possible that his side might complete a remarkable comeback. There was no way to legislate for Foran in this form, though, and his second goal, a looping header into the top right corner after he had hoisted Heary's long ball high back over the chasing Colm Tresson, was as good a way as Devlin could have hoped to see his side's 13 match unbeaten run ended.
Tresson salvaged his own pride with three minutes remaining with a headed goal from close range and a handball in injury time should have given him the chance to level it from the spot but the frantic appeals were ignored and, for all their efforts, the point was simply beyond them.
SHELBOURNE: Williams; Heary, Scully, McCarthy, D Geoghegan (Hutchison, 76 mins); Doolin, Crawford, Fenlon, Keddy; D Baker, Foran.
BRAY WANDERERS: Walsh; Britton, Doohan (Campbell, 88 mins), Lynch, Farrell; Tresson, O'Connor, Gormley (Long, 67 mins), Keogh; Byrne, Keegan (O'Brien, half-time).
Referee: J McDermott (Dublin).
