Soccer

Brace from Lyons helps Bohemians get back on track

Bray edged out in five-goal thriller

Paul Buttner
Fri Apr 26 2013 - 21:46

Bohemians 3 Bray Wanderers 2

Chris Lyons scored twice as Bohemians got their season back on track in this five-goal thriller at Dalymount Park.

With six changes in the side from last week’s defeat to Dundalk, Aaron Callaghan’s side showed an immediate improvement and enjoyed a storming start which brought the lead goal on 12 minutes.

Delightful feet by Ryan McEvoy carved an opening to put Andy Mulligan away on the left and he drew keeper Darren Quigley to set up Lyons who scored with a tap-in.

Lyons should really have scored again two minutes later. Played in over the top by left-back Luke Byrne, the striker was thwarted by the feet of Quigley.

Responded well
Bray responded well, though, with Jason Byrne blazing over with a first-time volley from a tight angle from Kevin Knight's sublime delivery.

READ MORE

Scarcely a minute later Byrne was at the same back post again to bring a smart save from Dean Delany.

A fortuitous goal then brought Bray deservedly level on 24 minutes. Gary Dempsey’s shot from some 30 yards took a strong deflection off a prostrate Marty Waters, who’d fallen to the ground earlier, and spun over the back-tracking Delany to enter the net for a bizarre equaliser.

That boosted Bray’s confidence and they came close to scoring twice inside a minute.

Delany was worked again, getting down to the butt of his left-hand post to save Mulroy’s downward header from Byrne’s cross.

Waters then spun inside the area to drill a shot off the bottom of the same upright as Bohemians somehow went in level at the break.

But the home side dominated much of the second half to establish their match-winning lead. Lyons skipped through onto McEvoy’s ball over the top to lob them back in front on 64 minutes.

Three minutes later Dave Mulcahy powered a McEvoy free-kick to the net with a bullet header for the third.

A lovely 73rd minute sidefooted finish from Kevin Knight's cross by Mulroy gave Bray hope, but Bohemians held out for an important win.
BOHEMIANS: Delany; Lopes, Mulcahy, Byrne; Pender (Barker, 73 mins.); Fitzgerald (Moore, 75 mins.), Buckley, McEvoy, Mulligan (Devaney, 83 mins.); Lyons, Scully.
Bray Wanderers: Quigley; Webster, D. O'Connor, Malone, Early (Akinade, 78 mins.); Waters, Dempsey (O'Neill, 87 mins.), Zambra, Knight; Mulroy, Byrne.
Attendance: 1,006.
Referee: Sean Grant (Wexford).