Bray Wanderers 2 - 3 Sligo Rovers

• Daire Walsh
• Sat, Apr 10 2010


Substitute Dean Marshall was the hero for Sligo Rovers on Friday evening, as his 92nd minute goal gave the away side the victory in this titanic battle at the Carlisle Grounds.

It looked like Bray had done enough when Jake Kelly equalised on the stroke of full-time, but Sligo never gave up and they went away with the three points in the end.

Though Bray did have some decent possession early on, Sligo really should have been ahead inside the opening ten minutes, with three gilt-edged goal chances coming their way. The first arrived on seven minutes when an excellent cross by Padraig Amond found left-winger Gary McCabe, who should have finished from close-in, but Brian Kane did well to turn it behind. From the subsequent corner, Blinkhorn got in a free header but hit it agonisingly wide.

He would also miss a similar chance four minutes later, albeit from a far more difficult position. It seemed like only a matter of time before Sligo scored but, completely against the run of play, The Seagulls took the lead with 18 minutes gone.

The move for the goal began with a throw on the right-wing that was taken by Daire Doyle, which Sligo goalie Richard Brush failed to hold. As the ball dropped, Shane O'Neill unleashed a right-footed strike that rebounded off a Sligo defender, before hitting off Brush and finding its way to the back of the net.

No doubt this would have come as something of a shock to Paul Cook and his Sligo side, but they did respond quite well and persistence finally paid off for Sligo after 37 minutes when Conor O'Grady's powerful header rattled the back of the Bray net from a Gary McCabe cross.

This meant that the sides were level going in at the break and, in a game that was always going to be a tight affair, everything was still there to play for. Sligo made a surprise switch at the break when they took off goalkeeper Brush and replaced him with Ciaran Kelly, with the former apparently suffering from double vision.

As it turned out, Bit O'Red made much the better start to the second period, and quick thinking from Gary McCabe on 59 minutes sent former Shamrock Rovers star Padraig Amond through down the left and he finished coolly under the body of Kane to push his side into the lead.

The concession of this goal left Bray chasing the game, but they were finding it hard to get on top of a well-drilled and assured Sligo side. Nevertheless, there was always a chance that Bray could catch them out from a set-piece, and this very nearly happened with 16 minutes remaining when Baker nodded on Dane Massey's free-kick, but the former Shels man's header was deflected wide.

This was a sign of things to come, and Bray were given a lifeline with normal time up, as Dave McKeon pointed to the spot after Pablo Rodriguez had gone down in the box. The awarding of this penalty was somewhat dubious, but Kelly made no mistake and the faithful home support were elated.

It looked like Sligo were headed for their sixth draw of the season, but Marshall had other ideas as he lashed onto a long-ball from Ciaran Kelly to give his side their second win of the campaign instead.

Bray Wanderers: Kane; D Doyle, O'Connor, Tresson, Massey; Mulroy, Kavanagh, Zambra, Baker (Brennan '78); O'Neill (J Kelly '37), Doyle (Rodriguez '61).
Subs not used: Donnelly, Webster.

Sligo Rovers: Brush (C Kelly h/t); Ventre, Peers, Almeida, Keane; Dillon (Doyle '79), O'Grady, Ryan, McCabe (Marshall '79); Blinkhorn, Amond.
Subs not used: Doninger, Foran.

Referee: Dave McKeon (Dublin)
Attendance: 300.
Extratime Man Of The Match: Padraig Amond (Sligo Rovers).