Bray Wanderers -v- Galway United
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Bray Wanderers will look to close the gap between themselves and Drogheda United at the foot end of the Aitricity Premier Division when they welcome
sixth-placed Galway United to the Carlisle Grounds on Friday evening (kick-off 7.45pm). Bray are currently just three points behind Darius Kierans' side with
a game less played, so a positive result here could really help their cause this season.
There has been something of an improvement from Bray Wanderers since Keith Long took over as Caretaker Manager following the resignation of Eddie Gormley as the permanent boss a number of weeks ago, with the involvement of Pat Devlin as Director Of Football also proving pivotal in their fight against relegation. Galway have also shown some good form recently, and have put in some exceptional performances on the road, with wins against UCD and Bohemians in the capital showing that they are a hard team for a home side to deal with.
This should lead to an intriguing tie, although Bray's hand has been weakened by the potential loss of star striker Shane O'Neill, who went off injured after fifteen minutes of Bray's win over Dundalk last week. However, there is some good news on the injury front as John Mulroy, who missed out on the wins over UCD and Dundalk, has recovered from a hamstring injury, and comes back into the squad.
Joining him in returning to the squad will be Club Captain Colm Tresson, Stephen Brennan and James Kavanagh, with all of them standing a good chance of featuring in the match-day line-up. Speaking to braywanderers.ie during the week, Director Of Football Devlin was very pleased with the victory on Friday and, in particular, with the attitude of the players.
"We competed well and kept our shape. We should have been a couple of goals up before we did score as we had two big penalty appeals turned down. Overall I was happy as all the players did well", Devlin said.
Look ahead to Friday's encounter against Galway, Devlin says that he expects a tough game, especially from a team managed by Sean Connor.
"Sean Connor always has his teams well organised,and they will be difficult. I know we have a tough game ahead but I hope we can continue to compete as we have been doing, but it will be tough", Devlin added.
Galway will look forward to this game with plenty of confidence, although they will be without the services of a few key players for the trip to Wicklow. Ciaran Foley will be missing with an ankle injury, while Rhys Meynell and Paul Sinnott still have a game left on their suspension following their dismissals against Bohemians in Dalymount Park. Gary Curran has returned from suspension himself though, which should serve as a good boost to The Tribesmen.
Having looked like they were going to be on the receiving end of a defeat against St. Pat's in Terryland Park in their most recent tie, Galway eventually came back to register a hard-earned draw, with the spirit shown being of particular pleasure to boss Connor.
“Our second half performance against St Pats was tremendous, and when you get on a bit of a run you have a belief that you can get back into a game. Whatever way they are doing it – these players have had a very difficult year with wage deferrals, sale of players and low gates – but the morale of the players and the football club in general has been tremendous and I think that morale will keep us in the division", Connor remarked.
He also provided his troops with some motivation, as he explained that, should they finished ahead of the faltering Dundalk (who had Connor as manager last year), then it would be their best league finish since 1993.
“If we can finish above Dundalk it will be the club’s best finish in the league for 17 years. What a tremendous accolade that would be to the players at the club. We’ll have Rhys back for the Sligo game and Gary Curran back for the Bray game and hopefully McKenzie will be okay for that game also. He picked up a hefty blow on the shin last week. Ciaran Foley will hopefully be able to take a spot on the bench next week and hopefully we’ll have Alan Murphy back before the end of the season. We are on decent form at the moment, I cannot praise the players highly enough. They are not playing for money: they are playing for each other and for the club", Connor concluded.
This should prove to be an eventful match in the Carlisle Grounds, as there has not been a scoreless draw in 41 previous meetings between the sides in all competitions. However, all the other omens point to a Galway win, as they are currently on an unbeaten run of eleven games in all competitions against Bray, while Bray have managed just three draws in the last eleven games, with Galway winning eight of them. Of the games so far this season between the two teams, Galway have won two (2-1 in Terryland Park and 2-0 in The Carlisle Grounds), with a 2-2 draw in their most recent match in Terryland seeing Bray getting goals through Shane O'Neill and Robbie Doyle.
The above games were by no means one-sided affairs, so Bray should certainly be given a chance in this game, especially after their impressive win against Dundalk. Yet, Galway will still probably have that bit extra in the tank and, having scored two or more goals in each of their last eight games against Bray in all competitions, they should have just enough fire power to get them over the finishing line.
Venue: Carlisle Grounds, Bray.
Referee: T. Connolly.
Paddypower.com odds: Bray Wanderers 13/8, Galway United 11/8, Draw 11/5.
BRAY WANDERERS
Injured: Richie Baker, David Tyrrell.
Doubtful: Shane O'Neill.
Suspended: None.
GALWAY UNITED
Injured: Ciaran Foley, Alan Murphy.
Doubtful: Jamie McKenzie.
Suspended: Rhys Meynell, Paul Sinnott.
Extratime.ie prediction: Bray Wanderers 1-2 Galway United
There has been something of an improvement from Bray Wanderers since Keith Long took over as Caretaker Manager following the resignation of Eddie Gormley as the permanent boss a number of weeks ago, with the involvement of Pat Devlin as Director Of Football also proving pivotal in their fight against relegation. Galway have also shown some good form recently, and have put in some exceptional performances on the road, with wins against UCD and Bohemians in the capital showing that they are a hard team for a home side to deal with.
This should lead to an intriguing tie, although Bray's hand has been weakened by the potential loss of star striker Shane O'Neill, who went off injured after fifteen minutes of Bray's win over Dundalk last week. However, there is some good news on the injury front as John Mulroy, who missed out on the wins over UCD and Dundalk, has recovered from a hamstring injury, and comes back into the squad.
Joining him in returning to the squad will be Club Captain Colm Tresson, Stephen Brennan and James Kavanagh, with all of them standing a good chance of featuring in the match-day line-up. Speaking to braywanderers.ie during the week, Director Of Football Devlin was very pleased with the victory on Friday and, in particular, with the attitude of the players.
"We competed well and kept our shape. We should have been a couple of goals up before we did score as we had two big penalty appeals turned down. Overall I was happy as all the players did well", Devlin said.
Look ahead to Friday's encounter against Galway, Devlin says that he expects a tough game, especially from a team managed by Sean Connor.
"Sean Connor always has his teams well organised,and they will be difficult. I know we have a tough game ahead but I hope we can continue to compete as we have been doing, but it will be tough", Devlin added.
Galway will look forward to this game with plenty of confidence, although they will be without the services of a few key players for the trip to Wicklow. Ciaran Foley will be missing with an ankle injury, while Rhys Meynell and Paul Sinnott still have a game left on their suspension following their dismissals against Bohemians in Dalymount Park. Gary Curran has returned from suspension himself though, which should serve as a good boost to The Tribesmen.
Having looked like they were going to be on the receiving end of a defeat against St. Pat's in Terryland Park in their most recent tie, Galway eventually came back to register a hard-earned draw, with the spirit shown being of particular pleasure to boss Connor.
“Our second half performance against St Pats was tremendous, and when you get on a bit of a run you have a belief that you can get back into a game. Whatever way they are doing it – these players have had a very difficult year with wage deferrals, sale of players and low gates – but the morale of the players and the football club in general has been tremendous and I think that morale will keep us in the division", Connor remarked.
He also provided his troops with some motivation, as he explained that, should they finished ahead of the faltering Dundalk (who had Connor as manager last year), then it would be their best league finish since 1993.
“If we can finish above Dundalk it will be the club’s best finish in the league for 17 years. What a tremendous accolade that would be to the players at the club. We’ll have Rhys back for the Sligo game and Gary Curran back for the Bray game and hopefully McKenzie will be okay for that game also. He picked up a hefty blow on the shin last week. Ciaran Foley will hopefully be able to take a spot on the bench next week and hopefully we’ll have Alan Murphy back before the end of the season. We are on decent form at the moment, I cannot praise the players highly enough. They are not playing for money: they are playing for each other and for the club", Connor concluded.
This should prove to be an eventful match in the Carlisle Grounds, as there has not been a scoreless draw in 41 previous meetings between the sides in all competitions. However, all the other omens point to a Galway win, as they are currently on an unbeaten run of eleven games in all competitions against Bray, while Bray have managed just three draws in the last eleven games, with Galway winning eight of them. Of the games so far this season between the two teams, Galway have won two (2-1 in Terryland Park and 2-0 in The Carlisle Grounds), with a 2-2 draw in their most recent match in Terryland seeing Bray getting goals through Shane O'Neill and Robbie Doyle.
The above games were by no means one-sided affairs, so Bray should certainly be given a chance in this game, especially after their impressive win against Dundalk. Yet, Galway will still probably have that bit extra in the tank and, having scored two or more goals in each of their last eight games against Bray in all competitions, they should have just enough fire power to get them over the finishing line.
Venue: Carlisle Grounds, Bray.
Referee: T. Connolly.
Paddypower.com odds: Bray Wanderers 13/8, Galway United 11/8, Draw 11/5.
BRAY WANDERERS
Injured: Richie Baker, David Tyrrell.
Doubtful: Shane O'Neill.
Suspended: None.
GALWAY UNITED
Injured: Ciaran Foley, Alan Murphy.
Doubtful: Jamie McKenzie.
Suspended: Rhys Meynell, Paul Sinnott.
Extratime.ie prediction: Bray Wanderers 1-2 Galway United
About Daire Walsh
Daire Walsh began reporting for Extratime in 2009, when he covered Kildare County's games in the League Of Ireland First Division. He currently reports on games involving the league's Dublin sides and also Bray Wanderers. … View Full Profile