Bray Wanderers 0 - 2 Dundalk

Dundalk’s star striking duo Patrick Hoban and Kurtis Byrne claimed goals in each half as their side secured second spot in the table and condemned Bray Wanderers to the play-offs.

The Lilywhites ultimately lose out on the league title by three points while the Seagulls will try their luck across two winner takes all games against the winner of Longford Town and Mervue United.

The first chance of note, after a promising Bray start, came when Jason Byrne found space out on the right and showed the intelligence to attempt a clever lob which glided narrowly over.

In the knowledge that they would need a positive result to guarantee survival (if you discount the situation regarding the Galway club merger), it was Wanderers who started stronger although they failed to carve out any real goal-scoring opportunities.

After 15 minutes, Hoban was inches away from meeting a Dane Massey cross before he tamely fired one wide from distance a minute later as the Lilywhites began to get their fluid passing game going after a sluggish start.

Massey smashed one over on his weaker right foot before Richie Towell did the same from distance, evidently full of confidence after his heroics against Cork City, and then was denied by a match saving block from David Webster.

An even better block followed that one later in the half when a cross from the right for Dundalk found its way to the feet of Stephen O’Donnell and his ferocious strike was met by a superb stop from Daire Doyle.

Five minutes from the break, though, they were breached at last when the ball ricocheted kindly on the edge of the area to the last man Bray would have wanted it to fall to and Dundalk’s top scorer, Hoban, pounced and met it delightfully with the outside of his right foot as it found its way low into the bottom corner.

Jason Byrne flashed a brilliant left foot volley towards goal in response but Peter Cherrie showed fine reflexes to get down low to his left and save.

At the start of the second half the former Dundalk man just missed with a header at the back post as his team chased the game but it was his old club who should have doubled their lead shortly afterwards following a fine move.

Towell tore down the right before backheeling the ball to Rossiter and his cross could not have been any better, arriving perfectly onto the head of John Mountney but he could only direct it wide.

With half an hour remaining Dundalk sealed the deal when Mountney collected the ball in the middle of the park and fed Byrne on the left, who was clinical in sight of goal, poking the ball into the far corner beyond Darren Quigley.

More flowing football from the Lilywhites followed, a mesmerising Byrne pass finding Towell on the right who cut back for O’Donnell. But his effort for a last goal of 2013 were thwarted by a fine low save from Quigley who collected at the second attempt.

Gary Dempsey came off the bench to produce a good stop from Cherrie as the minutes ticked down on the 2013 season which ends with much differing fortunes for these clubs.

Bray Wanderers: Darren Quigley; Daire Doyle, David Webster, Shane O’Connor, Dean Zambra; Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters (Conor Early 79), Kevin O’Connor, John Mulroy, Kevin Maher (Gary Dempsey 63); Ismahil Akinade, Jason Byrne (c) (Ryan Coombes 70).
Subs not used: Shane Redmond, Kevin Knight, Eoin Hyland, Niall Cooney.

Booked: K O'Connor (66).

Dundalk: Peter Cherrie; Mark Rossiter, Brian Gartland, Andy Boyle, Dane Massey; John Mountney, Richie Towell, Stephen O’Donnell (John Dillon 86), Chris Shields, Kurtis Byrne (Darren Meenan 89); Patrick Hoban (Vinny Faherty 83).
Subs not used: Conor Winn, John Sullivan, Francis McCaffrey, Tiarnan Mulvenna.

Booked: Gartland (7).

Referee: Tomas Connolly

Attendance: 2,000 (estimate).

Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Kurtis Byrne (Dundalk).