Shamrock Rovers -v- Bray Wanderers

• Daire Walsh
• Thu, Apr 22 2010


Shamrock Rovers will look to continue their good run of recent form when they welcome Bray Wanderers to the Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening (kick-off 8.00pm).

After a shaky start to the season, Rovers look like they are starting to settle into the new campaign and recent wins over Bohemians and Drogheda United suggest they are on the right track again.

Last year's star striker Gary Twigg made a scoring return as a substitute against Drogheda, and he has every chance of making the starting line-up for this game. His return is a timely boost for The Hoops as they are still without a host of players like Pat Sullivan (knee), Craig Sives (hamstring), Dessie Baker (broken arm), Stephen Bradley (wrist) and Don Cowan (groin).

“People will look at this game and see Bray struggling. But in Bray’s defence they were left with very little time to put a team together after finding out they would be in the Premier. It is a young, inexperienced side, but they are not a bad side”, Michael O’Neill said.

“I saw them against St Pat’s on Tuesday night, and I think the result really flattered Pat’s. There was nothing in it for the first 25 minutes or so, and then a freak 10/15 minutes completely changed the game. They have a lot of young lads in the squad and I think they’ll look forward to coming to Tallaght. We’ll have to be at our best to get the win.”

Nevertheless, this will be an extremely difficult task for Bray, and it isn't helped by injuries picked up by four key players in the past week. Veteran Colm Tresson, Ritchie Baker (brother of Dessie) and Stephen Brennan have all picked up hamstring injuries, while promising striker Shane O'Neill will also miss out with a hip injury.

“For the first half hour there wasn't a lot in it. We probably cancelled each other out, but then we had fifteen minutes where we just couldn't defend, conceding three goals from set pieces, corners and frees, while Gareth Coughlan's goal was a wonder strike", Seagulls boss Eddie Gormley said.

"We came out in the second half, played a little better and defended slightly better. We knew it was going to be a difficult year having prepared for the First Division, and we were always going to have days like that but we must learn from them. We must now bounce back from this,we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We had a good chat on Wednesday night and we will go to Tallaght knowing it will be difficult, but looking to get something from the game".

It will certainly be an uphill task for Bray, but their spirit is never in doubt and they should give it a good go against the Tallaght men on Friday evening. However, with Rovers starting to get back into their groove again, coupled with the loss of those key players for the Wicklow men, then it is hard to see anything other than a victory for the home side from this tie.

Venue: Tallaght Stadium.
Referee: R Winter.
Paddypower.com odds: Shamrock Rovers 3/10, Bray 10/1, Draw 7/2.

Shamrock Rovers
Injured: Pat Sullivan, Craig Sives, Dessie Baker, Stephen Bradley, Don Cowan.
Doubtful: Robert Bayly, Sean O'Connor.
Suspended: None.

Bray Wanderers
Injured: Colm Tresson, Ritchie Baker, Stephen Brennan, Shane O'Neill.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.

Extratime prediction: Rovers to win 2-0.