Shelbourne 1 Bray Wanderers 2
Bray advanced to the Semi Finals of the U15 Michael Hayes Cup following a hard fought 2-1 win against Shelbourne.
A goal at the very start of the game by Irish U15 striker Billy O’Neill coupled with substitute Cristiano Bramley making it 2-0 in the final third period on Sunday afternoon proved decisive at the AUL Complex in Dublin.
Wanderers got off to the perfect start, scoring inside the first 10 seconds.
Skipper O’Neill nicked the ball off a defender and finished cooly past Ali Topcu in the Shels goal.
The home side piled on the pressure for the remainder of the first third. But the Green and White’s defended resolutely.
The second third followed a similar pattern. The visitors were put under a lot of pressure, but they held out, with Max Free and Noah Byrne marshalling the back four.
Despite the pressure, the best chance of the half fell to away sub James Seberry who hit the post following a ball across from Sean Hennelly.
The Seagulls added to their tally in the 66th minute.
Goalkeeper Alex Forde picked out Bramley’s run behind the Red’s back line. The attacker showed great pace and composure to finish into the bottom corner of the net.
The pressure continued to be piled on by the Dubliner’s, and they eventually pulled one back in the third minute of injury time when Finn Sherlock bundled the ball into the net.
But Bray held on for the remaining few minutes to deservedly book their place in the last four.
Elsewhere in the Cup, Bohemians defeated Sligo Rovers 3-1 at the Showgrounds; St. Patrick’s Athletic defeated Waterford FC 2-0 at the SETU Arena while Shamrock Rovers beat Cobh Ramblers 4-1 at Roadstone.
Bray Wanderers: Alex Forde; Jack Lawless, Max Free, Noah Byrne, Evan Lynch; Joshua O’Leary Jake Fulton; Barra Lynch, Sean Hennelly, Adam Keene; Billy O’Neill.
Subs: Cristiano Bramley, Tadhg Worthington, Darragh Sherlock, Sean Howard, James Seberry, Callum Kenna, Ryan Bell Mihaila, Liam Billings.
* Bray goal scorers Cristiano Bramley and Billy O’Neill.
* Bray return to Ballycorus next Sunday to host Longford Town in the EA SPORTS LOI ACADEMY – Tier Two (North).
