League Preview: Dundalk -v- Bray Wanderers

DUNDALK FC

Dundalk return to football after a ten day break and will be slightly more pleased with how they left things than their opposition. An important win over last year’s runners-up Cork City, in a packed Turners Cross, kept Dundalk top of the table as we approach the first major milestone in the season - the completion of the first series of games.

A win will see Champions Dundalk six points better off than at this juncture last season but, if anything, last season has taught the Lilywhites not to dismiss Bray Wanderers; Dundalk played Bray three times in the league last season - losing one, winning one and drawing the other.

This is a sentiment echoed by Dundalk captain Stephen O’ Donnell who told his club’s website that it is important to follow up on successes in big games.

“It was a great win in Cork for us,” said O’Donnell. “They are a really good team and it was such a tough game for us. We equalised at the right time and went in front but we dug in and showed our battling qualities to get the victory. It’s just a start there, no one remembers the first few games and we have to keep our heads down and battle away.

“If you slip up against Bray Wanderers, the result against Cork means nothing so we have to maintain our focus and look for the three points. Bray have shown over the season so far that they are capable of getting results, we won’t be taking them lightly at all. It will be a tough game but we are focused on getting the win.”

Dundalk FC are reminding those fans attending that there will be a collection for Candystripe and league legend, Mark Farren, to help raise funds for potentially life saving treatment at a cancer centre in Germany.

BRAY WANDERERS

Bray travel to Dundalk with a rather concerning 3-0 home defeat to Galway as their last entry in the form card. Seagull’s manager, Maciej Tarnogrodzk, will be looking to finish the first series of games on a high and gather some momentum for the fixtures ahead, but there are easier assignments to do so than an away trip versus the league leaders and last season’s champions.

That said, Bray have been efficient on the road in recent games. They beat Sligo Rovers 3-1 at the Showgrounds and held Derry City to a scoreless draw at the Brandywell in their last two away trips.

The Seagulls proved to be a bogey-team for Dundalk last season. The points they grappled from the Lilywhites might prove to be a cautionary tale Stephen Kenny uses in the changing room before the match.

Last season Bray welcomed the Lilywhites early into the league campaign. Dundalk had just lost their influential captain, Stephen O’Donnell, to a serious injury in the previous drawn game against Shamrock Rovers. To further compound Dundalk’s misfortune, they lost that game to Bray, which raised doubts about the team’s capabilities. Were they being found out? Was the previous season’s rush on the title a flash in the pan?

The Town let a 4-0 mauling of Cork answer those questions and were offered a quick change to exact revenge in an EA Sports Cup fixture, which they duly won 3-0. The next time the sides met Dundalk were top of the table and a 5-0 routing of the Seasiders gave every indication why.

But Bray still managed to throw a spanner into the works of Dundalk’s campaign to end a nineteen year wait for a league title, in the penultimate game of the season. On a wet and windy night which saw the ball floating unexpectedly on the grass and in the air, Bray took the lead on 28 seconds through David Cassidy and withstood a Dundalk battering for over an hour until Patrick Hoban managed to overcome the conditions and the Bray defence to equalize.

It finished 1-1. The draw was enough to ensure Bray’s Premier League status a season more. A win for Dundalk would have left The Town needing to just avoid defeat in the final game to clinch the title. The draw meant that Cork would have the luxury of needing only a draw when they visited Oriel Park.

Entertaining? Certainly. But will we see a clinical performance from the champions or will Bray be a bogey team for them again this season? Kick-off is at 3pm in Oriel Park.

Referee: Derek Tomney.

MATCH STATS

There hasn’t been a goalless draw between these two since April 2011.

A win would mean that Dundalk have won 8 home league matches in a row for the first time since 1979. They are on a 15 match unbeaten run in the league.

Dundalk have six former Bray Wanderers players in their squad - Gary Rogers, Gabriel Sava, Brian Gartland, Chris Shields, Dane Massey and Jake Kelly.

BETTING

Dundalk 1/7; Draw 13/2; Bray 22/1.

PREDICTION

Dundalk FC 3 – 1 Bray Wanderers

Dundalk FC

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

Bray Wanderers

Injured: None.

Doubtful: Graham Kelly (Foot).

Suspended: None.