Gary Twigg got his first home goal of the season as Shamrock Rovers maintained their improved form to move up to third in the table.
Scot Twigg scored late on in Drogheda last week when coming off the bench, but capped his first start of the season by breaking bottom side Bray’s resolve to set up a third successive win as Michael O'Neill side stretched their unbeaten run to six games.
Though Rovers dominated much of the game, they had to settle for its only goal which arrived on 36 minutes from a swift counterattack following a rare Bray attack.
Danny Murphy fed Chris Turner who surged forward to pick out Thomas Stewart on the left. Twigg arrived to tap home the low cross.
Beaten 4-0 at home by St Pat’s on Tuesday, it looked ominous early on for Bray as Rovers had the ball in their box three times inside the opening four minutes.
Thankfully for the visitors, Billy Dennehy was slow to find his range as he blazed two efforts well off target.
Bray captain Daire Doyle then led by example to get his body in the way to block Thomas Stewart’s goal-bound shot after Chris Turner and Dennehy set him up.
Murphy was then given space to surge forward and rifle narrowly over the bar from all of 35 yards as the one-way traffic continued.
Bray had a right let off on 17 minutes when Twigg was left totally unmarked inside the box from Ollie Cahill’s free kick. But Twigg provided a reprieve when shooting wide.
Beleaguered Bray then survived a double let off on 25 minutes as Rovers maintained the pressure.
First Brian Kane got down well to parry Rovers' captain Dan Murray’s header from Cahill’s corner, with Twigg’s follow-up cleared off the line.
Kane saved well, this time with his feet, from Dennehy five minutes into the second half to prevent Rovers doubling their lead before a defensive blunder gifted Bray they first chance a minute later.
Murphy gave the ball straight to Dean Zambra, with Alan Mannus saving the blushes of his left-back with a save at the Bray winger’s feet.
That signalled Bray’s best spell of the game, but any chance of a comeback all but ended on 67 minutes when midfielder Mark O’Brien was shown a straight red card for a bad tackle on Stephen Rice, who’d only just come on.
Kane saved well from Dennehy and then Rice in stoppage time as Rovers had to settle for a narrow, if convincing, win.
Shamrock Rovers: Mannus; Flynn, Murray, Price, Murphy; Dennehy, Turner, Chambers, Cahill (Rice, 64 mins.); Stewart (Barrett, 80 mins.), Twigg (Baker, 72 mins.).
Bray Wanderers: Kane; D. Doyle, O’Connor, Webster, Massey; Zambra, Shields, O’Brien, Tyrrell (D. O‘Neill, 86 mins.); R. Doyle (Mulroy, 74 mins.), Rodriguez (Kelly, 79 mins.).
Referee: Richie Winter (Dublin).
