Rovers second string oust Bray

Rovers second string oust Bray

Bray Wanderers 0-3 Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers boss Liam Buckley relied exclusively on a second string outfit for the League Cup clash with Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds on Wednesday night, but it was still far too strong for an inexperienced Seagulls side.

Both sides went into the game boasting a five-game unbeaten start to their seasons, but it always looked likely that Rovers would be the ones to continue that form.

They took the lead midway through the first half when former Dundalk midfielder Jonathan Prizeman’s free kick ended up at the feet of striker Tony Grant, and he made no mistake to beat young Bray netminder Keith Rushe.

While much of the Bray team was characterised by its youth, the same could not said of its defence, where Wes Charles, Dave Campbell and Colm Tresson all boast an amount of experience in eircom League circles.

It remained 1-0 until 20 minutes into the second half, when Glen Fitzpatrick, getting a rare chance to impress for the Hoops, beat Rushe following a long clearance from goalkeeper Tony O’Dowd.

Veteran Tony Cousins, now the Hoops’ under-21 coach, made a rare appearance as a second half substitute for Grant, but was unable to find a goal, with midfielder Paul Caffrey, another substitute, completing the scoring by hammering home from 20 yards six minutes from time.

Bray Wanderers: Rushe, Charles, Campbell, Tresson, Lawless (Fitzpatrick, 77), Fox, James, Ryan (Hickey, 72), Forsyth, Zayed, O’Brien (Smullen, 72).

Shamrock Rovers: O’Dowd, O’Keeffe, Doyle, Deans, McGuinness (Martin, 56), Tracey, Prizeman, O’Brien (Caffrey, 70), Kramer, T. Grant (Cousins, 65), Fitzpatrick.



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