Midseason Report Card - Bray Wanderers

Club: Bray Wanderers

Manager: Harry Kenny

Stadium: Carlisle Grounds

Highest attendance this season: 2,225 (vs Shamrock Rovers, April 21^st)

Highest league goalscorer: Gary McCabe (13)

Mid-season position: 4^th

How we thought they would do

Our reporters collectively predicted Bray would finish the season in seventh position.

How they really have done

While Bray's recent form has seen them drop back towards Shamrock Rovers in fifth, they're still well ahead of where we expected them to be at this point. Gary McCabe has managed an incredible 13 goals (his highest-ever tally over a full season) from midfield and the only team to have managed more goals than the Seagulls is first-place Cork City.

Moment of the season so far

The 3-1 win away to Dundalk at Oriel Park represented the moment when observers of the league sat up and realised the Seagulls were more than just a flash in the pan. The Seagulls dug in after Stephen O'Donnell had cancelled out McCabe's second-half penalty, with the midfielder netting again from the spot before Ryan Brennan made the points safe. A subsequent hammering of Shamrock Rovers and a narrow away defeat to Cork City underlined their credentials as they stormed up to second in the table.

Star Player: Gary McCabe

How could it be anyone else? The Tallaght man has been a revelation since leaving his hometown club after six years to return to the club where he made his League of Ireland breakthrough. Manager Harry Kenny has given McCabe the free role behind the striker that he had craved but never nailed down at Rovers, and he's returned the favour with eight goals from open play on top of the five he's contributed from the spot.

Surprise star player: Ryan Brennan

Things didn't look promising for Brennan at the beginning of the season as he found himself relegated to the bench following the arrival of Keith Buckley and, especially, former Shamrock Rovers teammate Gary McCabe during the off-season. With McCabe locking down the number ten role, Brennan has been forced to adapt his game to a more box-to-box game and he's justifiably earned his place in the side and continued to chip in on the goals front, with four goals, including the winner away to his hometown club Drogheda United.

Young player: Dylan Connolly

After blooding a number of young players during his revival of Bray's season after taking over midway through last season, Harry Kenny consciously went for experience in the winter with the likes of Gary McCabe, Keith Buckley and Aaron Greene arriving, so the opportunities for younger players have been limited. That said, having just turned 22, Dylan Connolly is still far from the finished article but last season's star player has continued his form into this season, forming a lethal attacking trio with Aaron Greene and Ger Pender and chipping in with five goals of his own.

Star signing: Aaron Greene

Some eyebrows were raised over the winter as Greene turned his back on Limerick after winning the First Division title to join Bray, but the move closer to home has worked out well for the Dubliner as he sits second in the club's scoring charts with six league goals. Greene, with Connolly on the opposite flank, has formed the league's paciest and most relentless wing pairing, while his physicality ensures he offers a threat in the box when Connolly or full-back Kevin Lynch turns creator from the left.

What they need to do in the transfer market

While Bray clearly have no problem scoring goals, they boast the league's second-worst defensive record. Their total of 31 goals conceded (admittedly having played one more game than everyone else) is just one shy of Finn Harps. Injuries and loss of form have led Kenny to omit his previously first-choice full-backs Hugh Douglas and Kevin Lynch in recent weeks, at one point playing winger Karl Moore and midfielder John Sullivan on either side, while the

Where we see them finishing

Defeat to Limerick before the break stretched Bray's winless run to five games, three of them defeats, a run of poor form that's seen them drop from second place to fourth, just a point ahead of Shamrock Rovers. With the club having invested heavily before the beginning of the season, and only four crowds over 1,000 this season, the board are unlikely to sanction much transfer action in the window, so Bray would do well to maintain their position in the top four. More likely, they will duke it out with Limerick for fifth position.