UCD 0 - 1 Bray Wanderers

A 68th minute goal from Danny O’Connor was enough for Bray Wanderers to take all three points at the Belfield Bowl on Friday night as UCD failed once again to hit the net in a season that has so far yielded just four points and one goal from their opening four fixtures.

The opening 45 minutes of this encounter were largely uneventful. A heavily sanded pitch didn’t help matters but in truth, neither side offered enough composure or inventiveness on the ball to create genuine chances out of what was essentially a midfield battle.

Both sides started the game with twin strikers but it was an indication of how little progress either made that half way through the opening period they had each made alternative arrangements, UCD reverting to a lone striker and Bray pulling John Mulroy into the middle and shifting Chris Shields to the right of midfield.

For Bray it was mercurial winger Jake Kelly who looked most dangerous, linking well on occasion with full back Joe Kendrick and providing a couple of crosses in the opening ten minutes that might have caused more alarm in the UCD defence if their attacking duo of Shane O’Neill and Chris Shields had been playing with more intent.

As it was the visitors most dangerous moment in the first half emanated from a long throw by Dave Webster which resulted in some chaos inside the box and a shot from Adam Mitchell that was blocked away by an alert Ger Barron.

At the other end the students provided very little attacking ball to their front pair, Graham Rusk and Samir Behout. Dean Marshall, starting in central midfield did provide a glimmer of hope on ten minutes when he broke with pace and slid a ball forwards to Rusk, who turned superbly inside his man before playing an imperfect ball to Paul Corry whose hesitation ended the move.

Robbie Creevy almost provided a breakthrough on 29 minutes with a well judged ball through the middle to Rusk but Matt Gregg was out quickly to smother the chance. In the latter minutes of the half Marshall began to look lively having moved from the middle out onto the right wing but by then the tone had been solidly set and the half ended emphatically scoreless.

UCD started the second half the stronger, with Dean Marshall standing out as a threat. It was his cross into the box on 56 minutes that offered Robbie Creevy the chance to put Gregg under pressure but the Bray ‘keeper held the ball bravely at the midfielder’s feet.

Paul Corry came close two minutes later, spinning a free kick narrowly over from an excellent central position but it was the visitors who came closest to breaking the deadlock on the hour mark when Chris Shields met a Jake Kelly cross at the right hand post and pulled a low ball back across goal that Tomas Boyle managed to somehow bounce into the safety of his goalkeeper’s hands.

Then Kelly flicked a ball to Mulroy on the left, his low shot being batted away by Boyle’s flailing boot. Suddenly the game was in danger of becoming interesting and moments later Tomas Boyle conceded a free wide on the right as Shane O’Neill bounced off the defenders shoulder. A harsh yellow card was followed by a Joe Kendrick free kick that Danny O’Conner met with a stooping header from eight yards that glided past Barron and into the UCD net.

One minute later Shane O’Neill nearly made it two, chipping Barron from all of thirty yards, way out by the right hand touchline. The students ‘keeper was beaten all ends up and could only watch as the ball glided millimetres over his crossbar.

However, the introduction of Yael Haro for Samir Belhout, put an instant pep into the step of the home side. From a corner, conceded by Mitchell that might easily have slipped into his own goal rather than outside his near post, Haro blasted a shot that Gregg did well to hold. Moments later the Spaniard picked up a pass from Paul O’Conor and hit a raking volley across the Bray goal that was not far away from sneaking in at Gregg’s far post.

As the game entered it’s final ten minutes it was all UCD as the students chased a point that would, in all fairness, have been just reward for a game in which they were hardly overshadowed. But as the minutes ticked away their through balls towards Rusk and Haro became ever more rushed and the ball refused to fall kindly.

Rusk volleyed a Paul O’Conor corner over the bar and Marshall headed harmlessly into Gregg’s hands at the back post but there was to be no last minute reprieve and the final whistle marked three crucial points fro Bray and yet another goal-less game for UCD.

UCD: Ger Barron; Sean Harding (David O’Connor, 94), Mick Leahy, Tomas Boyle, Ciaran Nangle; Paul O’Conor, Robbie Creevy, Paul Corry, Dean Marshall; Graham Rusk, Samir Belhout (Yael Haro, 68).
Subs not used: Mark McGinley, Stephen Doyle, Daniel Ledwith, Robbie Benson, Mark Langtry.
Bookings: Belhout (12), Boyle (67).

Bray Wanderers: Matt Gregg; Dave Webster, Derek Prendergast, Adam Mitchell, Joe Kendrick; John Mulroy (Sean Houston, 89), Gary Dempsey, Danny O’Connor, Jake Kelly (Dane Massey, 77); Shane O’Neill (Danny McGuinness, 84), Chris Shields.
Subs not used: Brian Kane, Dean Zambra, Daire Doyle, Graham Kelly.
Bookings: O’Neill (30).

Referee: Anthony Buttimer.
Attendance: 453.
extratime.ie Man of the Match: Gary Dempsey.