The Strugglers - Bray Wanderers
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
In the second of our series looking at the teams in the nether regions of the division, Finbarr O'Sullivan examines Bray Wanderer's prospects of survival and paints a grim picture:
Bray Wanderers
Manager: Eddie Gormley
Home ground: The Carlisle Grounds
Current position (start of season prediction): 10th (10th)
Top scorers: Gary McCabe (7), Dave Mulcahy (5), Dane Massey (4).
Star man: Chris O'Connor. The best of a bad bunch. Like all his team-mates, he has struggled to play well all season long. However, he has been on hand to make a few crucial saves throughout the year and the goals conceded column would be worse if not for him.
Story so far: While pre-season predictions may not have been favourable for Bray, there is always a sense of having their backs to the wall at the start of every campaign and, usually by the end of it, the Seagulls have proven that they are more than the sum of their parts.
That has not been the case this season. With the loss of key players like Alan Cawley and Mark Duggan, as well as a large amount of fringe players, the team were going to struggle and the players brought in have hardly been successful. Dave Mulcahy has played well but has a poor disciplinary record, while Stephen Brennan, Chris Deans and Paul Byrne are all noticeably inconsistent.
The league campaign started with three draws before the team's inconsistency began to show. Away wins over Shamrock Rovers (in doing so, Bray became the first team to beat Rovers at their new home in Tallaght), Bohemians and Drogheda United have been balanced out by home defeats to Drogheda (twice) and Galway United.
The key factors in Bray's plight are the lack of goals and, in particular, a goal-scorer up front. The side have only scored 28 goals in the league, with only three of those goals coming from recognised strikers. A defence which has shipped 49 goals, the worst in the league, and makes the simplest of mistakes, doesn't help either.
Despite a shock 3-2 win over Cork City last Friday, Tuesday's loss at Sligo has brought the club back down to earth. The clear evidence of Bray's position as favourites for the drop came from the three games before the dramatic win: A lapse of concentration in defence allowed Drogheda to score a last-gasp winner in the Carlisle Grounds, a poor attacking display at home against Pat's saw them lose 1-0 and despite at one point drawing 1-1 in Galway, they went on to lose 3-1. Four defeats to teams just above them is relegation form, yet there is still some hope of success for the Seagulls this season.
The one bright point for Bray has been their FAI Cup run, which has taken them to a semi-final clash with Sporting Fingal. While not playing brilliantly, or indeed playing any team higher in the league than Longford Town, Bray will feel they have as much a chance of winning as Sporting Fingal, Waterford United and Sligo Rovers do.
Remaining fixtures: St. Patrick's Athletic (A), Dundalk (H), Derry City (A), Bohemians (H).
Extratime.ie verdict: 10th. It's going to be tough for the Seagulls to stay up. They are still only two points behind Drogheda but in their remaining fixtures they will have to play two tough away games: the first against fellow relegation strugglers Pats and also against Derry City who are still in the hunt for a European place. Their home games are against Dundalk and a Bohemians side that could very well be needing a win to clinch the title when they visit the Carlisle Grounds on the final day of the season.
Bray Wanderers
Manager: Eddie Gormley
Home ground: The Carlisle Grounds
Current position (start of season prediction): 10th (10th)
Top scorers: Gary McCabe (7), Dave Mulcahy (5), Dane Massey (4).
Star man: Chris O'Connor. The best of a bad bunch. Like all his team-mates, he has struggled to play well all season long. However, he has been on hand to make a few crucial saves throughout the year and the goals conceded column would be worse if not for him.
Story so far: While pre-season predictions may not have been favourable for Bray, there is always a sense of having their backs to the wall at the start of every campaign and, usually by the end of it, the Seagulls have proven that they are more than the sum of their parts.
That has not been the case this season. With the loss of key players like Alan Cawley and Mark Duggan, as well as a large amount of fringe players, the team were going to struggle and the players brought in have hardly been successful. Dave Mulcahy has played well but has a poor disciplinary record, while Stephen Brennan, Chris Deans and Paul Byrne are all noticeably inconsistent.
The league campaign started with three draws before the team's inconsistency began to show. Away wins over Shamrock Rovers (in doing so, Bray became the first team to beat Rovers at their new home in Tallaght), Bohemians and Drogheda United have been balanced out by home defeats to Drogheda (twice) and Galway United.
The key factors in Bray's plight are the lack of goals and, in particular, a goal-scorer up front. The side have only scored 28 goals in the league, with only three of those goals coming from recognised strikers. A defence which has shipped 49 goals, the worst in the league, and makes the simplest of mistakes, doesn't help either.
Despite a shock 3-2 win over Cork City last Friday, Tuesday's loss at Sligo has brought the club back down to earth. The clear evidence of Bray's position as favourites for the drop came from the three games before the dramatic win: A lapse of concentration in defence allowed Drogheda to score a last-gasp winner in the Carlisle Grounds, a poor attacking display at home against Pat's saw them lose 1-0 and despite at one point drawing 1-1 in Galway, they went on to lose 3-1. Four defeats to teams just above them is relegation form, yet there is still some hope of success for the Seagulls this season.
The one bright point for Bray has been their FAI Cup run, which has taken them to a semi-final clash with Sporting Fingal. While not playing brilliantly, or indeed playing any team higher in the league than Longford Town, Bray will feel they have as much a chance of winning as Sporting Fingal, Waterford United and Sligo Rovers do.
Remaining fixtures: St. Patrick's Athletic (A), Dundalk (H), Derry City (A), Bohemians (H).
Extratime.ie verdict: 10th. It's going to be tough for the Seagulls to stay up. They are still only two points behind Drogheda but in their remaining fixtures they will have to play two tough away games: the first against fellow relegation strugglers Pats and also against Derry City who are still in the hunt for a European place. Their home games are against Dundalk and a Bohemians side that could very well be needing a win to clinch the title when they visit the Carlisle Grounds on the final day of the season.
About Finbarr O'Sullivan
Currently working in Brazil, Finbarr will be giving his take on Brazilian football in his regular Extratime.ie column. Finbarr peviously studied in Spain and worked in the Czech Republic and had regular column pieces on … View Full Profile