Waters to the rescue for Bray

Bray W 1 Shelbourne 1: BRAY WANDERERS and Shelbourne will have to fight it out again in a replay at Tolka Park on Monday after…

Bray W 1 Shelbourne 1:BRAY WANDERERS and Shelbourne will have to fight it out again in a replay at Tolka Park on Monday after the teams had to settle for a share of the spoils in last night's tie at the Carlisle Grounds.

A draw was probably the right result with last year’s beaten finalists Shelbourne dominating the opening 45 minutes. But it was a completely different Bray side in the second half and the least Pat Devlin’s side deserved was a second bite of the cherry.

Shelbourne started the stronger when, following a weak headed clearance by Bray captain Danny O’Connor on five minutes, midfielder Glen Cronin let fly from 25 yards but the ball went just over the bar.

Then a corner on the right by Paddy Kavanagh allowed Brian Shortall to get in a shot from the edge of the box but it was well saved by Bray goalkeeper Darren Quigley.

READ MORE

All the pressure was bound to tell and Shelbourne deservedly took the lead on 35 minutes when a left-footed Barry Clancy free on the right from 30 yards sailed high into the net without a Bray player getting a touch to the ball.

The Seagulls at last posed a challenge on 42 minutes when an an Adam Hanlon cross from the left enabled winger Marty Waters to get in a shot from 12 yards but it was well saved at the second attempt by goalkeeper Dean Delaney.

A resurgent Bray grabbed a deserved equaliser on 63 minutes when Marty Waters availed of Andy Boyle’s poor back-header to round the advancing Delaney and squeeze a shot home from a difficult angle for a clinical finish.

Waters went close to a winner on 77 minutes when he latched on to a pass from John Mulroy and cut in from the left only this time to shoot into the side netting.

Hanlon then had a shot blocked by Delaney before the normally so reliable Jason Byrne fired wildly over from the rebound.

BRAY WANDERERS: Quigley; Webster, D OConnor, Sweeney, Knight; Hanlon, Zambra, Houston, Mulroy (Kelty, 88 mins), Waters; Byrne.

SHELBOURNE: Delaney; Mathews (Murphy, 73 mins), Boyle, Shortall , Clancy; Cassidy, Cronin, Dawson, Kavanagh (McGill, 86 mins); Hughes (Ryan, 73 mins), Gorman.

Referee: D Hancock (Dublin).