Bray Wanderers -v- UCD

• Daire Walsh
• Thu, May 12 2011


Bray Wanderers will look to address the form that has seen them go four games without a win when they welcome near rivals UCD to the Carlisle Grounds on Friday evening (kick-off 7.45pm).

Defeats in their previous two games to St. Patrick's Athletic (home) and Sligo Rovers (away) represents the first time that the Wicklow men have suffered back-to-back reversals in the Airtricity Premier Division this season, which is an indication of just how strong Pat Devlin's side have been so far in this campaign.

Heading into this game, Bray find themselves lying seventh in the top-flight table, though they are only two points behind third-placed Sligo Rovers, so a win here could prove extremely beneficial to their prospects as we head into the middle-third of the season. Unfortunately for Bray though, they continue to be without a full complement of players, with injuries to Dave Webster (ankle) and Danny O'Connor (thigh) adding to a list that already contains long-term absentees Gary Shaw and Stephen Brennan.

While they do have plenty of good players at their disposal currently, there is no doubt that The Seagulls could have done with the extra option of Shaw and Brennan in the past few weeks. The fact that they have had so many games in the past fortnight has seen them suffer according to Director Of Football Devlin, and he feels that the outcome of their game with UCD is very hard to determine.

“The lads suffered from the amount of games they have been asked to play in the last fortnight. UCD are coming off the back of a good win. Bray v UCD games have a history and tradition all their own and you can never tell what will happen.”, Devlin stated.

Devlin is not alone in having to deal with injury problems however, as Martin Russell also has a number of players missing out through injury. The Students will have to make the trip to the Carlisle Grounds without key first-team squad members Mick Leahy (shoulder), Robbie Creevy (ankle), Cillian Morrison (ankle), Robbie Benson (hip flexor injury) and Mark Langtry (calf), though his substitute bench did work quite well for him against Galway United on Monday last.

Having made a rather slow start to the season (they had just one win from their opening eight encounters), UCD have stepped up their form, winning three out of their last four, even if they did suffer a 7-0 loss to Derry City in The Brandywell last Friday. They showed great character to bounce back with a victory over Galway United at the beginning of the week though, and Russell is now more than hopeful that they can close the gap between themselves and Bray in the table.

“Bray have had a great start but if we can go and play well in the Carlisle Grounds and pick up three points we will only be a point behind them.”, Russell remarked.

As Devlin himself said, games between these two sides are often hard to predict, and despite the fact that Bray failed to gain a win in the four league encounters between the two teams last season, Bray did knock UCD out of both the Leinster Senior Cup and the FAI Cup last year, so the Belfield side will know that they can't afford to take their opponents for granted.

In many ways, the start that Bray made to this season is quite similar to that made by UCD last year, and they too had gone into the campaign as underdogs having come up from the First Division as Champions. UCD did hit a bit of slump towards the end of the 2010 season however, and Bray will no doubt want to maintain the same kind of performance levels they have reached so far for the majority of the season, even if it may prove hard to develop the consistency that is necessary to push for a European place.

This should help to add a bit of spice to the game, as Bray will want to climb back up the table, and UCD will want to reduce the gap between seventh and eighth now that they sense the opportunity that might see them steering clear of relegation trouble.

Given some of the football that both sides have played so far this season, as well as factoring in the competitive nature of the fixture in general (Bray came away from the UCD Bowl in March with a hard-fought 1-0 win), this should be an enterprising and highly engrossing league tie. Both sides have enough in their armour to come away with the three points on offer but, in the end, they may well have to settle for a share of the spoils.

Bray Wanderers
Injured: Dave Webster, Danny O'Connor, Gary Shaw, Stephen Brennan
Doubtful: Chris Shields.
Suspended: None.

UCD
Injured: Mick Leahy, Robbie Creevy, Cillian Morrison, Robbie Benson, Mark Langtry.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.

Referee: Paul Tuite (Dublin).

Paddy Power odds: Bray Wanderers 10/11; Draw 9/4; UCD 3/1.

Extratime prediction: Bray Wanderers 2-2 UCD.