St Pat's 0 Bray W 1:JASON BYRNE and Darren Meenan were sent off as this clash reached boiling point in the second half at Richmond Park last night.

A generally dour game exploded into an all out melee on 64 minutes after Bray were incensed that St Patrick’s failed to put the ball out when their defender Shane O’Connor went down with cramp. When Bray goalkeeper Darren Quigley finally got the ball and threw it out of play, all hell broke loose.

Bray’s veteran striker Byrne squared up to St Patrick’s Seán O’Connor with the winger going to ground a little too easily.

A bout of pushing and shoving ensued, but didn’t really kick off until Byrne was eventually sent off on the advice of assistant referee Dermot Broughton. So incensed was Byrne that he went for O’Connor as all players and both benches got involved in a right fracas on the pitch.

When some order was finally restored St Patricks winger Meenan was also dismissed. St Patrick’s also then had Kenny Browne sent off for a foul on Marty Waters on 84 minutes, his second booking. Waters then won the game for Bray three minutes later to throw a spanner in St Patrick’s title aspirations.

There was more purpose from St Patrick’s from the resumption and James Chambers saw a 25-yard free kick parried into the ground by Bray keeper Quigley and up and out off the underside of the crossbar eight minutes in.

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Clarke; O’Brien, Kenna, Browne, Carroll; Bolger, Chambers, Coombes (J Kelly, 90 mins); Meenan, Fagan, O’Connor (Flood, 79 mins).

BRAY WANDERERS: Quigley, S O’Connor (Doyle, 68 mins), D O’Connor, Mitchell (Webster, 42 mins), Massey; Zambra (Marshall, 34 mins), Houston, Mulroy, K O‘Connor, Waters; Byrne.

Referee: P Sutton (Clare).