Bray Wanderers - 0 Bohemians - 3: Bohemians' season was given a welcome and timely boost with their most comfortable win of the campaign as Bray finished with nine men to continue their sorry run which now extends to just one point from their last seven games.
The wonder of a one-sided first half was that Bohemians, who took the lead inside 90 seconds, were only one goal to the good after dominating the 45 minutes. And that when Bray had a full complement of players.
Despite the fact they were missing five first-teamers through suspension and injury, Bohemians, beaten 1-0 in their previous two games, punished poor defending to take a second-minute lead and never looked back.
Stephen Gifford gave the ball straight to Stephen Ward and the Ireland under-21 international, off to Greece with Don Givens's squad next week for the 2007 European Championship qualifier there, cut inside and drilled a shot low into the far corner.
Affected not in the least by the loss just three minutes later of John Paul Kelly with a leg injury, Bohemians continued their assault on the Bray goal and a rampant Ward came within inches of a second goal on 14 minutes. Bray goalkeeper Gary Rogers tipping the ball off Ward's head from Stephen Rice's cross into the area.
Shocking defending then gifted Fergal Harkin a double chance. His first shot struck Gifford before the second ricocheted off Willie Tyrrell.
Ward was there again from Harkin's corner to rattle the crossbar with a header as Bray were simply in disarray at the back.
The openings kept coming and it was Ward again who stroked the crossbar with a left-footed shot after a neat lay-off by Paul Devlin.
The clever feet of Harkin had Bray at sixes and sevens on 35 minutes when he skipped past Tyrrell and then Philip Keogh only to blast his shot just over the bar.
The game was over within six minutes of the second half. A terrific move three minutes in brought the Dublin side their second goal.
Conor Powell and Devlin put Ward away down the left and his cross was headed home by Mark Leech.
Bray defender Chris Deans, booked for a foul in the first half, was then sent off by referee Alan Kelly for handling Harkin's corner in the penalty area and Devlin scored emphatically from the spot.
The only sour note for Bohemians was when their manager, Gareth Farrelly, was sent from the dugout on 65 minutes before Wanderers had Keogh dismissed for a second booking following a foul on Powell with seven minutes remaining.
BRAY WANDERERS: Rogers; Gifford, Deans, W Tyrrell (M Roche, 61 mins.), Keogh; Doyle (O'Brien, 76 mins), James, Caffrey, D Tyrrell; Fox, Georgescu (L Roche, 87 mins).
BOHEMIANS: O'Brien; Rice, Ferguson, Caffrey, Powell; Harkin, Kelly (Duggan, 5 mins), Heary, Ward (O'Keeffe, 84 mins); Leech, Devlin (Dunphy, 77 mins).
Referee: Alan Kelly (Cork).
