Bray's home fire burns on

Down the years it hasn't been one of those places that championship contenders worried about visiting, but much more of this …

Down the years it hasn't been one of those places that championship contenders worried about visiting, but much more of this and the Carlisle Grounds could start to acquire a bit of a new reputation.

Wanderers have been fairly solid at home all season, but, since beating Cork City in the middle of last month, they have been bursting with confidence on their own territory.

Bohemians, who must have seen this game as a reasonable opportunity to match Shelbourne's win on Friday night, are just the latest big name to be taken down a peg or two on the seafront.

When Shelbourne lost in Bray two weeks ago they contributed much to their own downfall, but, of the several Wanderers players who stood out, Colm Tresson was the most persistent cause of difficulty for the visiting defence.

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Yesterday it was much the same, with Dave Hill and Shaun Maher faring little better against the midfielder's late runs.

Having scored twice against the champions, the 29-year-old opened the scoring against Bohemians after 38 minutes when he won a high challenge with Wayne Russell to meet Barry O'Connor's cross from the right.

Tresson might well have put the game beyond Bohemians a couple of minutes before the break. On that occasion, though, Jason Byrne's ball across the face of the goal just eluded him. With the scare behind them, Roddy Collins' side struck back in style three minutes into the second period when Simon Webb curled a wonderful free kick around a five-man wall and inside Eddie Van Boxtel's post.

"I thought we looked comfortable again when we equalised," observed Collins afterwards, "but even then we posed no threat up front, which is becoming a bit of a problem for us".

Sure enough, Glen Crowe and Trevor Molloy went a fifth game without producing a goal between them.

However, with Kevin Hunt marked out of the match by Philip Keogh in central midfield and neither Dave Williamson or Anthony Hopper producing much service from the flanks, the pair weren't entirely to blame for Eddie Van Boxtel's prolonged spells of inactivity.

Bray clearly felt they had a licence to get bodies forward and, less than five minutes after the equaliser, Paul Keegan took advantage of some poor marking inside the six-yard box to head Eddie Gormley's corner home.

Their third goal was a product of Tresson's tireless work, Keegan's outstanding ability to provide for those better placed than himself and, ultimately, a decent finish from Barry O'Connor.

Not bad for a team who, according to their manager, are aiming to avoid relegation. But it was a terrible day for one whose sights are very much set on the other end of the table.

Bray Wanderers: Van Boxtel; Britton, Charles, Lynch, Farrell; O'Connor, Tresson, Keogh, Gormley; Byrne, Keegan.

Bohemians: Russell; O'Connor, Maher, Hill (Brady, 72 mins), Webb; Williamson (Shelley, 64 mins), Caffrey, Hunt, Hopper; Molloy, Crowe.

Referee: J McDermott (Dublin).

Emmet Malone

Emmet Malone

Emmet Malone is Work Correspondent at The Irish Times