Longford Town 0-2 Bray Wanderers
Ger Pender scored for the second successive match as Bray Wanderers maintained their impressive revival under manager Harry Kenny to see off Longford Town in their SSE Airtricity League Premier Division clash at City Calling Stadium.
While it’s one defeat in 12 league games for Bray, Longford are now without a victory in 25 matches since the opening night of the season as they remain eight points adrift at the foot of the table, and now with a game more played than Wexford Youths in the play-off place.
The first note of the game saw Bray’s anchor midfielder John Sullivan limping off with an ankle injury after just nine minutes.
Four minutes later Longford defender Pat Flynn smothered the threat of Dylan Connolly with a timely tackle just inside the area as the Bray winger looked to burst through.
Home captain Conor Powell then did well to block a shot from Connolly on 23 minutes as the game struggled to come to life.
Longford finally threatened for the first time a minute later. Eddie Dsane just failed to get on the end of Don Cowan’s low cross from the right before a combination of Bray skipper Conor Kenna and keeper Peter Cherrie scrambled the ball clear.
Bray then wasted a set-piece chance on 38 minutes. Kevin Lynch squared a free kick from the left across the edge of the Longford area for Karl Moore who skied his shot over the bar.
But three minutes later Wanderers, marginally the better side, were in front.
Connolly saw his header from a Lynch cross come back off the Longford crossbar. Striker Pender was alert to the loose ball, pouncing to rifle the rebound to the net for his third goal of the season.
As in the first half, the second 45 was slow to spark.
Longford pressed to get back into the game, but didn’t create a chance until the 74th minute when Kevin O’Connor got forward onto Powell’s pass to shoot over the top.
A surging run in from he left by Powell three minutes later resulted in his shot off his weaker right foot scarcely troubling Cherrie.
Midfielder Darragh Noone then sealed Bray’s win on 87 minutes when drilling home after Town keeper Ryan Coulter parried a shot from Connolly.
Longford Town: Ryan Coulter; Jamie Mulhall, Pat Flynn, Yann Mvita, Conor Powell; Kealan Dillon, Philip Gannon (Gaius Makouta, 83), Kevin O’Connor (Kaleem Simon, 89), Peter McGlynn; Don Cowan, Eddie Dsane (David O’Sullivan 54).
Bray Wanderers: Peter Cherrie; Hugh Douglas, Alan McNally, Conor Kenna, Kevin Lynch; John Sullivan (Jason Marks 10); Karl Moore, Darragh Noone (Gareth McDonagh, 90), Mark Salmon, Dylan Connolly; Ger Pender (Alan Kehle 70).
Referee: Rob Rogers (Dublin).
