Bray Wanderers 0 - 3 Middlesbrough
Credit:
Goals from substitutes Leroy Lita and Lee Miller were instrumental in giving Middlesbrough a comfortable victory over Bray Wanderers in an entertaining
friendly encounter at the Carlisle Grounds on Wednesday evening. This was the second friendly that Gordon Strachan's side have had in Ireland following their game
against Athlone Town on Monday, which they drew 1-1.
With a strong side on show, including a number of players familiar to fans of the Scottish Premiership, it was expected that Middlesbrough would be the dominant team in this game against a Bray side that had Sean Houston, Gary Dempsey and Irish under-age star Darragh Satelle in the side as triallists. However, Bray more than held their own early on, with Satelle looking especially sharp early on.
Nevertheless, the first real chance of the game did fall the way of the Teesiders, as good spade work by Dubliner Willo Flood and former Celtic striker Scott McDonald set-up former Arsenal first-teamer Justin Hoyte who hit powerfully towards the goal, only to see his effort blocked superbly by Bray defender Adam Mitchell.
This showed that both sides were up for the game, as both Hoyte and Flood were showing extremely well on the right, while Mitchell displayed great commitment to close down the space on Hoyte. Bray had a chance of their own just a minute later when Ian Tuohy went on a mazy run and laid the ball off to Satelle, who produced a fine save from Middlesbrough goalie Brad Jones.
Middlesbrough would continue to enjoy the majority of the possession, but Bray were making it very difficult for them to create too many clear-cut openings. In turn, as the game moved on, Bray started to create a few chances and, with a bit of luck, they could have taken a shock lead. First, a Jake Kelly corner on 18 minutes was flapped at by Jones, but no Bray man could get a touch to it, and a minute later Shane O'Neill produced another save from Jones after a strong run down the left-flank.
At this point, it could have been argued that Bray had as much play as Middlesbrough, but there was a feeling that Boro would be that more clinical when the chances did come their way. This turned out to be the case as Nik Bailey reacted the quickest to a through-ball from midfield to finish sweetly with his right foot past the helpless Kane.
The off-set of this goal was that Middlesbrough started to play with far more confidence, as they started to pass the ball around the middle-third with far more conviction. McDonald went close with an effort on 37 minutes, but the closest we got to a second goal in the opening period came with four first-half minutes remaining when a Gary O'Neil free-kick came crashing off the woodwork with Kane beaten all ends up.
Luckil for Bray, this strike eventually flew away to safety, and the deficit was only one goal at the break. With the game against Bohemians coming up on Friday, Seagulls 'boss Eddie Gormley saw this as an excellent opportunity to give game time to a few players, as well as resting a few others. Dean Zambra, Nicky Byrne and Dane Massey all coming at the break, with Robbie Doyle following them just six minutes later.
In contrast, Boro didn't make any changes until the hour mark, and this helped to maintain a degree of consistency in their play. However, the introduction of former Reading and England Under-21 front man Leroy Lita did have a big impact on the game, as his pace and strength had the Bray back line in sixs and sevens. In fact, he made an immediate impact as he hit the crossbar on 67 minutes after a firm strike from a tight angle.
This was extremely unlucky on his part, but he made no mistake six minutes later when he buried past Bray sub 'keeper Neil McManus with a powerful strike from ten yards. This meant that it was essentially curtains for Bray, and the mini-fright that they gave to the Championship side at the start was now a distant memory. Middlesbrough would continue to cause problems for Bray as the game entered into the final-quarter, and Neil McManus had to be on his toes to stop Boro adding to their lead after 80 minutes.
He couldn't prevent the third goal from coming five minutes later though, as the all-action Lita broke free down the right and delivered a pin-point cross that was met by a bullet-header from substitute Lee Miller, which found its way into the Bray net, in spite of Neil McManus' best efforts.
This proved to be the last meaningful action of the game, as Boro held on for a well-deserved victory over Eddie Gormley's men. Next up for Bray is a league game against Bohemians on Friday, followed by another glamour friendly against Spanish side Villarreal next Monday evening.
Bray Wanderers: Kane (McManus '67); Webster (S O'Connor '38 (Shields '83)), Mitchell (Byrne '46), Prendergast (D O'Connor '62), Houston (D Doyle '62); Tuohy (Massey '46), Dempsey (L Massey '80), Kavanagh (Zambra '46), Kelly; O'Neill, Satelle (R Doyle '51).
Subs not used: A O'Connor, M O'Connor, McManus.
Middlesbrough: Jones; Hoyte, McManus, Grounds, Arca; O'Neil (Bennett '77), Thomson, Bailey, Flood (Williams '60); Boyd (Miller '30), McDonald (Lita '60).
Subs not used: Coyne, Steele.
Referee: D. Hannay (Dublin).
Extratime.ie Man Of The Match: Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough).
With a strong side on show, including a number of players familiar to fans of the Scottish Premiership, it was expected that Middlesbrough would be the dominant team in this game against a Bray side that had Sean Houston, Gary Dempsey and Irish under-age star Darragh Satelle in the side as triallists. However, Bray more than held their own early on, with Satelle looking especially sharp early on.
Nevertheless, the first real chance of the game did fall the way of the Teesiders, as good spade work by Dubliner Willo Flood and former Celtic striker Scott McDonald set-up former Arsenal first-teamer Justin Hoyte who hit powerfully towards the goal, only to see his effort blocked superbly by Bray defender Adam Mitchell.
This showed that both sides were up for the game, as both Hoyte and Flood were showing extremely well on the right, while Mitchell displayed great commitment to close down the space on Hoyte. Bray had a chance of their own just a minute later when Ian Tuohy went on a mazy run and laid the ball off to Satelle, who produced a fine save from Middlesbrough goalie Brad Jones.
Middlesbrough would continue to enjoy the majority of the possession, but Bray were making it very difficult for them to create too many clear-cut openings. In turn, as the game moved on, Bray started to create a few chances and, with a bit of luck, they could have taken a shock lead. First, a Jake Kelly corner on 18 minutes was flapped at by Jones, but no Bray man could get a touch to it, and a minute later Shane O'Neill produced another save from Jones after a strong run down the left-flank.
At this point, it could have been argued that Bray had as much play as Middlesbrough, but there was a feeling that Boro would be that more clinical when the chances did come their way. This turned out to be the case as Nik Bailey reacted the quickest to a through-ball from midfield to finish sweetly with his right foot past the helpless Kane.
The off-set of this goal was that Middlesbrough started to play with far more confidence, as they started to pass the ball around the middle-third with far more conviction. McDonald went close with an effort on 37 minutes, but the closest we got to a second goal in the opening period came with four first-half minutes remaining when a Gary O'Neil free-kick came crashing off the woodwork with Kane beaten all ends up.
Luckil for Bray, this strike eventually flew away to safety, and the deficit was only one goal at the break. With the game against Bohemians coming up on Friday, Seagulls 'boss Eddie Gormley saw this as an excellent opportunity to give game time to a few players, as well as resting a few others. Dean Zambra, Nicky Byrne and Dane Massey all coming at the break, with Robbie Doyle following them just six minutes later.
In contrast, Boro didn't make any changes until the hour mark, and this helped to maintain a degree of consistency in their play. However, the introduction of former Reading and England Under-21 front man Leroy Lita did have a big impact on the game, as his pace and strength had the Bray back line in sixs and sevens. In fact, he made an immediate impact as he hit the crossbar on 67 minutes after a firm strike from a tight angle.
This was extremely unlucky on his part, but he made no mistake six minutes later when he buried past Bray sub 'keeper Neil McManus with a powerful strike from ten yards. This meant that it was essentially curtains for Bray, and the mini-fright that they gave to the Championship side at the start was now a distant memory. Middlesbrough would continue to cause problems for Bray as the game entered into the final-quarter, and Neil McManus had to be on his toes to stop Boro adding to their lead after 80 minutes.
He couldn't prevent the third goal from coming five minutes later though, as the all-action Lita broke free down the right and delivered a pin-point cross that was met by a bullet-header from substitute Lee Miller, which found its way into the Bray net, in spite of Neil McManus' best efforts.
This proved to be the last meaningful action of the game, as Boro held on for a well-deserved victory over Eddie Gormley's men. Next up for Bray is a league game against Bohemians on Friday, followed by another glamour friendly against Spanish side Villarreal next Monday evening.
Bray Wanderers: Kane (McManus '67); Webster (S O'Connor '38 (Shields '83)), Mitchell (Byrne '46), Prendergast (D O'Connor '62), Houston (D Doyle '62); Tuohy (Massey '46), Dempsey (L Massey '80), Kavanagh (Zambra '46), Kelly; O'Neill, Satelle (R Doyle '51).
Subs not used: A O'Connor, M O'Connor, McManus.
Middlesbrough: Jones; Hoyte, McManus, Grounds, Arca; O'Neil (Bennett '77), Thomson, Bailey, Flood (Williams '60); Boyd (Miller '30), McDonald (Lita '60).
Subs not used: Coyne, Steele.
Referee: D. Hannay (Dublin).
Extratime.ie Man Of The Match: Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough).
About Daire Walsh
Daire Walsh began reporting for Extratime in 2009, when he covered Kildare County's games in the League Of Ireland First Division. He currently reports on games involving the league's Dublin sides and also Bray Wanderers. … View Full Profile