Bray Wanderers 1
Athlone Town 0
There was no away day joy for Athlone Town at the Carlisle Grounds on Friday night, a solitary strike from Bray Wanderers’ striker Cole Omorehiomwan ensuring the Seagulls claimed the brace of league points.
An exciting opening half saw Athlone fail to score when one on one with the goalkeeper on two separate occasions. Bray’s Ben Feeney could also have grabbed a double but the half remained scoreless. The second half proved disappointing for the Town as Bray struck late for the winner.
Athlone started brightly as a Valerii Dolia cross from the left was caught by the keeper while Frantz Pierrot had a shot cleared. Aaron Connolly then fired a snap shot wide and Haji Abdikadir was also off target before Bray had their first chance.
The opening corner kick saw Cole Omorehiomwan have a header saved. The last quarter of an hour’s action in the half should have seen at least one goal being scored. Pierrot was left with just the keeper to beat but fired his shot off Stephen McGuinness and behind for the Town’s only corner.
Pierrot had a further chance while the next action saw Enda Minogue do well to deny Feeney as the striker’s shot was blocked. It was Adam Lennon’s turn next to have the opportunity to open the scoring for Athlone, but Stephen McGuinness stood up to block the ball. An all action conclusion to the half continued as the woodwork then denied the home teams Feeney.
The second half proved extremely disappointing for the Town as they created just a couple of chances. Bray were on top for long periods but had to rely on a late goal to secure the three points, four corners in the first 10 minutes following the resumption of play placing the hosts in a prominent position.
The first chance had fallen to Jack Hudson but the finish from the home number four was poor. Athlone’s Oisin Duffy had a cross blocked by the keeper but it was a rare chance for the visitors. Just before the hour mark, Bray saw another strike crash off the woodwork, this time it was the turn of Chris Lyons when he fired off the bar with Max Murphy then shooting wide.
Minogue kept Athlone in contention with two more fine saves before a rare chance then fell Athlone’s way. Blake Ryan was in the action as a substitute and created the opening for Patrick Hickey who volleyed over. It was one of the few times the Town had the chance to find the net.
Feeney was again out of luck on 70 minutes when his goal bound strike was blocked by Minogue, prior to the deadlock finally being broken after 74 minutes when Athlone were undone from a free kick routine.
The ball fell to Lyons who advanced to the end line to deliver a low cross. Omorehiomwan came in to find the net with a low shot for his fourth goal of the campaign. Athlone had no response in the closing stages but had a late chance when Hickey got on the end of a cross but saw his header saved.
