Details

Date Time League Season
20 August 2021 7:45 pm LOI Men's First Division 2021

Match Report

Shels held to draw by Bray

It was honours even at Tolka Park tonight as league leaders, Shelbourne were held to a 1-1 draw by Bray Wanderers.

It was a night of missed chances for the hosts who had a number of opportunities to extend their lead and widen the gap between themselves and second place.

Shels started the game the brighter of the two sides. There were just two minutes on the clock when Ryan Brennan picked out Michael O’Connor with a wonderful cross but the striker could not convert his header.

The Reds looked on top early on and despite a chance from Callum Thompson, their defence rarely looked troubled.

O’Connor was involved heavily in the first half with several efforts on goal, one of which forced a fantastic diving save from Bray ‘keeper Brian Maher.

The pressure from the hosts finally told as they took the lead just before half-time. A great cross from Dayle Rooney was dummied by O’Connor and it fell to Ryan Brennan who did well to control and smash the ball home.

Bray came out flying for the second half and looked to be in control of the game early on. Shels looked to be comfortable with sitting back and defending their lead.

It was the 68th minute when the visitor’s dominance was rewarded. A delightful one-two between Richie O'Farrell and Brandon Kavanagh saw O’Farrell get in behind the defence. The midfielder made no mistake and finished into the right-hand corner.

Maher was called into action on two more occasions making another great save and doing well to sprint out of his box and clear a loose ball away.

Overall, the draw seems to be what both teams deserved. However, both sides will be disappointed that they could not take the three points.

A win for Shelbourne would have extended their lead at the top of the table to ten points and made them very likely to be lifting the trophy come the end of the season.

A Bray victory would have seen them jump into second place and given them an outside chance of lifting silverware this year.

Shelbourne

1Brendan Clarke Goalkeeper
4Ally Gilchrist Defender
9Michael O’Connor Forward
10Ryan Brennan 5 Midfielder 44'
14Brian McManus Midfielder
16John Ross Wilson Defender
17Shane Farrell Forward 71'
18Dayle Rooney Midfielder
23Luke Byrne Defender
26George Poynton Midfielder
32Kameron Ledwidge 3 Forward
25Jack Brady Goalkeeper
Eric Molloy Forward
Gavin Molloy Midfielder
2Michael Barker Defender
3Kevin O’Connor 32 Defender
5Yassine En-Neyah 10 Midfielder
11Yoyo Mahdy Forward
15Maxim Kouogan Defender
30Alex Nolan Forward

Bray Wanderers

1Brian Maher Goalkeeper
3Dylan Barnett Defender 79'
4Andrew Quinn Defender
5Aaron Barry Defender
6Conor Clifford Midfielder 57'
9Joe Doyle 10 Forward
11Brandon Kavanagh 22 Midfielder
14Richie O’Farrell Midfielder 68'
21'
15Daniel Jones Defender
16Darren Craven Midfielder
27Callum Thompson 7 Midfielder
25Kian Clarke Goalkeeper
7Ryan Graydon 27 Forward
8Mark Byrne Midfielder
10Gary Shaw 9 Forward
17Luka Lovic Midfielder
22Steven Kinsella 11 Forward
28Sam Verdon Forward
  • FULL-TIME: Shelbourne 1-1 Bray Wanderers

  • 93'

    Maher does well come off his line and clear

  • 92'

    A great chance for Shels but it seemed no one was able to make contact with the ball as it was put across the box

  • 86'

    A stoppage in play as Brian Maher and En-Neyah are down after a clash

  • 82'

    Wilson with a great chance that is well saved by Brian Maher

  • 79'

    Dylan Barnett is booked for a cynical foul

  • 71'

    Shane Farrell is booked for stopping a Bray counter attack

  • 68'

    A great passage of play saw O'Farrell go through and finish well into the left-hand corner

  • 68'

    Richie O'Farrell draws Bray level

  • 65'

    Brendan Clarke is called into action but the save is comfortable

  • 58'

    The resulting free kick is blocked and leads to a corner

  • 55'

    Brian McManus with a great run but his finish did not match

  • 51'

    Bray have looked on top in the opening minutes of the second half

  • 51'

    Clifford has a great chance but he cannot connect cleanly with the ball

  • 46'

    Bray get the second period underway

  • The players return to the pitch for the start of the second half

  • HALF-TIME: Shelbourne 1-0 Bray Wanderers

  • 44'

    A great ball across the box finds Brennan who does well to control and finish

  • 44'

    Ryan Brennan gives Shels the lead

  • 44'

    Brandon Kavanagh engineers some space for himself and his strike goes close

  • 39'

    O'Connor goes close again but his header is wide of the left-hand post

  • 36'

    O\'Connor lets fly and it is well blocked

  • 32'

    Brian Maher makes a wonderful save from an O'Connor header

  • 28'

    And play resumes once more

  • 28'

    Another stoppage as Ryan Brennan receives attention

  • 27'

    Play resumes with a Shels corner that is headed into the arms of Brian Maher by Rooney

  • 24'

    Play is delayed as there is a problem with one of the corner flags

  • 22'

    Rooney goes close with the free kick

  • 21'

    Richie O'Farrell receives a booking

  • 21'

    A free kick in a dangerous position for the Reds

  • 18'

    O'Connor goes down in the box but the referee waves it away to the disappointment of the home fans

  • 17'

    A Michael O'Connor strike is deflected wide

  • 14'

    Callum Thompson is slipped through but he cannot finish the one on one chance as his attempt goes over

  • 13'

    Darren Craven has an effort from outside the area that goes considerably wide

  • 11'

    Shels have had the better of possession so far but only the one chance of note

  • 2'

    A great cross from Ryan Brennan

  • 2'

    Michael O'Connor looked certain to score from close range with a header but he cannot get it on target

  • 1'

    Shels get the game underway

  • The teams are on the pitch ahead of kick-off

  • Byrne, Ledwidge, Poynton and O'Connor come into the starting eleven for Shels

  • Bray make one change with Aaron Barry coming into the line-up

  • Gary Cronin will be hoping that his side can carry that momentum into tonight's game

  • The visitors' last game saw them come away 1-0 winners away to Treaty United after an injury time penalty from Conor Clifford

  • Ian Morris and his men will be looking to bounce back and pick up all three points tonight

  • The hosts come into this one following their first defeat of the season which came in a 3-1 loss away to Galway United

  • Tolka Park is the venue for tonight's game

  • Hello and welcome to Final Whistle's coverage of tonight's top of the table clash between first place Shelbourne and third place Bray Wanderers in the SSE Airtricity League First Division

Past Meetings

(Series 11)
1 - 4
LOI Men's First Division
Carlisle Grounds

Bray Wanderers v Shelbourne

3 - 6
eLOI Group D
Online Event

Bray Wanderers v Shelbourne

(Series 2)
3 - 3
LOI Men's First Division
Tolka Park

Shelbourne v Bray Wanderers

Ground

Tolka Park
Tolka Park (Shelbourne FC), Drumcondra South A ED, Dublin, County Dublin, Leinster, Ireland

A journalist with an interest in sports. BA in Multimedia Journalism from the University Of Wolverhampton.