CORK CITY captain, John Caulfield stands on the brink of becoming a member of one of the most exclusive clubs in Irish football after his goal fired Cork to a comfortable win over Bray Wanderers in the league at Turner's Cross yesterday.

Caulfield struck after 21 minutes turning in a cross from Ollie Cahill as Cork out played Bray. It was Caulfield's 99th goal in league soccer and only he can explain why he failed to make the 100. Caulfield and his other striking partners were guilty of many misses as Cork regularly found a way through a porous Bray defence.

Cahill added a second goal after 28 minutes, but Bray were lucky to be still in the match at half time.

A tactical change at the start of the second half helped Bray restore some stability and they won much more of the ball in the second period. They pulled back Joe Lynch from midfield to play sweeper behind Sean Byrne and Gavin Teehan.

Bray caused Cork hearts to flutter when they succeeded in cutting the deficit with 15 minutes left to play, Graham O'Hanlon scoring after a misunderstanding between Dave Hill and his goalkeeper, Phil Harrington.

But there was little substance to Bray's challenge and Cork put a more realistic look on the scoreboard when a splendid move involving Caulfield, Flanagan and Freyne, ended with O'Connell firing home their third goal.