The Batttle of Bray
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The Drogheda versus Bray saga which reaches its pinnacle this Sunday can be surmised by football author Pete Davies “Football is not about justice, it’s a drama.”
Drogheda may feel somewhat aggrieved at their current situation as they believed they had consigned the Seagulls to the First Division last season, but in a summer full of drama Bray found themselves being handed a reprieve and were once again a Premier Division side. Now this weekend they can go about exacting their revenge and relegating their Louth rivals.
Anything but a win for the Claret and Blue side on Sunday see’s almost a decade of Premier Division football come to an end.
The 2007 champions fortunes have plummeted since their maiden league win and they are now staring into a repeat of the 90’s when they were renowned for being a yo-yo team, too good for the First Division but not good enough for the Premier, although this time around they may be more on a par with the lower league.
Bray Wanderers were a First Division side elect last season, their playoff defeat to Drogheda forced them into a two legged affair with Sporting Fingal which the Santry side won comfortably on an aggregate score of 4-2, however the demise of Cork City and Derry City afforded the Seagulls another shot as a top flight team.
Speaking to then Bray manager Eddie Gormley during pre-season he mentioned that despite all the pre-season confusion that it was a welcome headache that his side were reinstated in the top flight despite having let several of their key players go during the close season and were unable to resign a proper team for the following season making them bookies favourites to be relegated.
The sides fates have been interlinked with both being arguably the poorest of the Premier Division teams one was always going to occupy the automatic relegation spot.
Bray seemed destined to be that side until former Drogheda United manager Pat Devlin took control and since then Bray’s fortunes have changed dramatically. Devlin is operating in his second term as Seagulls manager, having already proving himself as their most successful boss in the club’s history.
The Seagulls have amassed 15 points from a possible 30, their run ironically beginning on Friday the 13th with a shock 3-2 win over the then table topping St Patrick’s Athletic at the Carlisle Grounds.
Drogheda on the other hand have produced a cataclysmic implosion which has seen them pick up only 1 point from a possible 30 and has resulted in the role reversal between themselves and Bray. Alan Mathews left the Boynesiders in May while Darius Kierans was appointed to the role under a shroud of controversy due to his lack of licences. Ironically his first game in charge came against Bray Wanderers and after seeing his side give up two goals in the first half he managed to navigate a 2-2 draw in a game many said that if Drogheda had won they would have guaranteed Bray finish bottom.
The sides have met three times in the league this season with two draws and a Bray win the outcome of these clashes. The most recent meeting coming at Hunky Dorys Park when the Wicklow side registered only their second win of the season, beating a nine man Drogheda when a home side win would have produced a gap of 17 points between the relegation candidates. So with only 90 minutes left for Drogheda to save their season the curtain call is looming for this drama, will the Fat Lady be belting out the closing line or is there another act to be had.
Drogheda may feel somewhat aggrieved at their current situation as they believed they had consigned the Seagulls to the First Division last season, but in a summer full of drama Bray found themselves being handed a reprieve and were once again a Premier Division side. Now this weekend they can go about exacting their revenge and relegating their Louth rivals.
Anything but a win for the Claret and Blue side on Sunday see’s almost a decade of Premier Division football come to an end.
The 2007 champions fortunes have plummeted since their maiden league win and they are now staring into a repeat of the 90’s when they were renowned for being a yo-yo team, too good for the First Division but not good enough for the Premier, although this time around they may be more on a par with the lower league.
Bray Wanderers were a First Division side elect last season, their playoff defeat to Drogheda forced them into a two legged affair with Sporting Fingal which the Santry side won comfortably on an aggregate score of 4-2, however the demise of Cork City and Derry City afforded the Seagulls another shot as a top flight team.
Speaking to then Bray manager Eddie Gormley during pre-season he mentioned that despite all the pre-season confusion that it was a welcome headache that his side were reinstated in the top flight despite having let several of their key players go during the close season and were unable to resign a proper team for the following season making them bookies favourites to be relegated.
The sides fates have been interlinked with both being arguably the poorest of the Premier Division teams one was always going to occupy the automatic relegation spot.
Bray seemed destined to be that side until former Drogheda United manager Pat Devlin took control and since then Bray’s fortunes have changed dramatically. Devlin is operating in his second term as Seagulls manager, having already proving himself as their most successful boss in the club’s history.
The Seagulls have amassed 15 points from a possible 30, their run ironically beginning on Friday the 13th with a shock 3-2 win over the then table topping St Patrick’s Athletic at the Carlisle Grounds.
Drogheda on the other hand have produced a cataclysmic implosion which has seen them pick up only 1 point from a possible 30 and has resulted in the role reversal between themselves and Bray. Alan Mathews left the Boynesiders in May while Darius Kierans was appointed to the role under a shroud of controversy due to his lack of licences. Ironically his first game in charge came against Bray Wanderers and after seeing his side give up two goals in the first half he managed to navigate a 2-2 draw in a game many said that if Drogheda had won they would have guaranteed Bray finish bottom.
The sides have met three times in the league this season with two draws and a Bray win the outcome of these clashes. The most recent meeting coming at Hunky Dorys Park when the Wicklow side registered only their second win of the season, beating a nine man Drogheda when a home side win would have produced a gap of 17 points between the relegation candidates. So with only 90 minutes left for Drogheda to save their season the curtain call is looming for this drama, will the Fat Lady be belting out the closing line or is there another act to be had.
About P.J. Murray
P.J. generally covers Drogheda games at HD Park and can generally be found at any Dublin ground when of a loose end on a Friday night. View Full Profile