League Preview: Bray Wanderers -v- Longford Town

Bray Wanderers welcome fellow cup-tie winners Longford Town to the Carlisle Grounds this Friday. Kick-off is 7.45pm.

BRAY WANDERERS

Another change in manager, another fantastic start but can Trevor Croly keep up the momentum against Longford Town? The new Bray manager has matched his predecessor Maciej Tarnogrodzki’s reign as they both won two and drew one of their first three matches. Another similarity is the fact that both beat Limerick at home in these games, with Croly triumphing over the Superblues in the F.A.I. Cup last week.

Bray’s problem has once again been their scoring, especially at home where they have only managed five goals in seven games and four of them came in the 4-0 win over Limerick under Tarnogrodzki. However the Seagulls nearly repeated that scoreline last week as Dave Cassidy opened the scoring with a fantastic volley before Chris Lyons hit a double in the second half as Bray ran out 3-1 winners. The hope now is that this won’t be just a once off like before.

Bray have a full squad to choose from for the game against Longford, with Croly particularly happy about the development of fitness levels at the club as he told www.bwfc.ie, “The players have embraced the levels and targets which have been set for them in relation to this and with the effort they are putting in, it is rewarding to see the individual and collective progress they are making week on week.”

LONGFORD TOWN

Longford are sitting pretty in sixth place in the league table but a split is beginning to emerge between themselves and St Patrick’s Athletic, who lie six points ahead of them. A win over Bray would definitely boost Town’s chances of joining the upper clique, while a loss would see a possible drop in places as only five points separate sixth from eleventh, where Friday’s opponents currently reside.

Longford will be heading to the Carlisle Grounds after a hard fought win over Finn Harps in the F.A.I. Cup at the second time of asking. A Martin Deady penalty during sudden death sealed the Town’s progress to the next round although Tony Cousins will be hoping that his team isn’t affected by having to play that extra game. More good news on the night was that Don Cowan made his return from injury, coming on in the 69^th minute.

The Town faithful will be hoping that the Shaw and O’Sullivan partnership up front can return to form against Bray, as the duo who plundered 34 goals in 28 games last season have only managed 5 in 14 this campaign. Mark Salmon is currently the club’s top goalscorer in the league with four goals to his name and Longford haven’t lost when Salmon is on the scoresheet.

Referee: Anthony Buttimer

MATCH STATS

The two teams faced each other in March, with Longford winning out 2-0 thanks to goals from Pat Flynn and Gary Shaw.

Before that the last time the two sides met was in the 2013 Premier Division play-offs, which Bray won 5-4 on aggregate. Only Adam Mitchell remains for Bray, whilst Tyrell, Hunt, O’Sullivan, Shaw and Gorman are still at Longford.

Bray have scored in only two home league games this season – but they won them both.

Longford have not lost to any of the teams in the bottom half of the table (at this moment in time). They have won four and drawn three out of the seven games.

BETTING

Bray Wanderers 19/10; Draw 9/4; Longford Town 11/8.

PREDICTION

Bray Wanderers 0-1 Longford Town.

Bray Wanderers

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

Longford Town

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.