Derry City 1 - 1 Bray Wanderers

Derry City missed an opportunity to go back to the top of the table, drawing against a Bray Wanderers side who fully deserved their point at the Brandywell. It was an uncharacteristically flat performance from the Candystripes who looked anything but a team who are challenging for the league title. However it was a determined and impressive performance from the away side.

The game started at quite a frenetic pace and as early as the second minute, Derek Tomney went to his pocket and booked Bray’s Daire Doyle for a late challenge on McEleney. Eddie McCallion, who was a doubt prior to the game, was forced to come off in the 9^th minute with a recurrence of his long standing calf problem and was replaced by Ruari Harkin.

In the 12^th minute Ryan McBride was late in the tackle and he also went into the book. The half then developed into quite a lacklustre affair with repeated offside's and niggling fouls and only came to life in the last five minutes.

Bray’s Danny O’Connor was lucky to only see yellow with a two footed tackle on Gareth McGlynn, and Stewart Greacen stung Darren Quigley’s hands with a powerful drive from the resulting free kick. Bray broke out in the 41^st minute and earned a corner which Jake Kelly swung in and Dean Zambra got the final touch off the underside of the bar to put them into a surprise lead.

In the 44^th minute Ryan McBride, who had already been booked felled Zambra in the box but the referee wasn’t interested, and it seemed as if Derry had really got away with one as it looked a stonewall penalty.

The second half started much the same as the first with Adam Mitchell booked for a heavy tackle on McGlynn. Derry were showing more urgency but Bray were defending resolutely. Kenny decided to bring on Mark Farren and Emmett Friars to see if that would have an impact, and in the 74^th minute, it did just that.

Emmett Friars picked the ball up on the touchline, cut inside, before letting fly with a 25 yard thunderbolt which Quigley watched sail past to give Derry the equaliser. Two minutes later ex-Bray striker Eamon Zayed was put through one on one but Quigley got down well to save. He really should have done better however.

Derry were getting frustrated and not for the first time this season, Kevin Deery was booked for dissent. The home side were by this stage applying all the pressure but Bray defended well until the end and were fully deserving of their point. Derry will feel as its two points dropped though and it could be a very important result in deciding the destination of this year's title.

Derry City: Gerard Doherty; Daniel Lafferty, Ryan McBride (Emmett Friars 64), Stuart Greacen Eddie McCallion (Ruairi Harkin 9); Gareth McGlynn, Ruaidhri Higgins, Kevin Deery(c), Stephen McLaughlin; Patrick McEleney (Mark Farren 62), Eamon Zayed.

Subs not used: Eugene Ferry, Owen Morrison, James Henry, David McDaid.

Bookings: Ryan McBride (12), Danny Lafferty (51), Kevin Deery (77).

Bray Wanderers: Darren Quigley; Daire Doyle, Dane Massey, Adam Mitchell, Danny O’Connor; Gary Dempsey (c), Chris Shields, John Mulroy (Kieran Waters 83), Conor Murphy (Gary Shaw 83); Dean Zambra, Jake Kelly (Kevin Knight 90).
Subs not used: David Webster, Graham Kelly, Danny McGuinness, Brian Kane.
Bookings: Dane Massey (5), Danny O’Connor (39), Adam Mitchell (46).

Referee: Derek Tomney.
Attendance: 2,100 (estimate).

extratime.ie Man of the Match: Dean Zambra.