First Division Playoff Final Report: Bray Wanderers 2 - 2 Athlone Town AET (Bray win 4-2 on penalties)
- Extratime Team
- Sun, Nov 03 2024
Bray Wanderers are 90 minutes away from a Premier Division return after coming from 2-0 down to see off Athlone Town in the First Division playoff final.
The Seagulls will now face FAI Cup finalists Drogheda United in the promotion/relegation final on November 16 at Richmond Park.
But it looked as though Wanderers campaign was going to end in heartache after a dismal first half display at Dalymount Park.
The Co Wicklow side fell 2-0 behind to Athlone and were deservedly trailing the contest.
Dean Ebbe opened the scoring early on when he met Kyle Robinson’s wicked delivery from the right flank after a set-piece broke down.
Dario Castelo’s side doubled their lead soon after when German Fuentes-Rodriguez also headed home.
The Seagulls - backed by a healthy travelling contingent in Dublin 7 among the 1,872 spectators - had to react and they did in the second period.
John O’Sullivan’s cross was turned into the Athlone Town net by Dylan Hand - with the Bray support reinvigorated by their side’s resurrection.
But they had to wait until the dying embers of the game in injury time when Cole Omorehiomwan headed in a deserved leveller.
Extra-time passed with both teams missing big opportunities, and a penalty shootout followed.
And it was there where keeper Jimmy Corcoran was the hero as he saved from Aaron Connolly and Armado Oakley - with O’Sullivan scoring the winning effort for the Seagulls.
The in-house extratime.com team of writers
View Bio
