Slump continues as ten-man Finn Harps hit for five by Bray Wanderers

John Bilili Sesay, Ben McCormack, Tyreik Sammy and Dean O’Shea were all on target at the Carlisle Grounds on Friday evening as 10-man Finn Harps suffered a convincing defeat at the hands of Bray Wanderers to remain at the foot of the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division table.

Following the red cards picked up by Bridel Bosakani and Shaunie Bradley in the 5-0 defeat away to Longford Town last Monday, Harps were forced into a couple of enforced changes for their latest visit to Bray. Aaron McLaughlin and Alex Fanle were drafted into the starting 11 to fill the gap left by this suspended duo, while there were also spots on the bench for Academy prospects Lukas Doherty and Guilherme Tavares.

The visitors were hoping for a strong start as they aimed to avoid a 15th loss in 27 league games this season, but instead it was Bray who stormed into the action on home soil.

The Seagulls were eager to bounce back from recent back-to-back reversals and from McCormack’s lofted free-kick into the area with just over two minutes gone, full-back O’Shea played an enticing ball towards the right-hand post that was turned into the net by midfielder Sesay.

This was a nightmare opening to the contest for Harps and the second-tier’s basement side were consistently kept on the back foot in the moments that followed Sesay’s breakthrough.

McCormack attempted an audacious chip from distance when Harps were turned over with netminder Lorenzo Piaia Barbosa slightly out of position, before winger Conor Knight (brother of Republic of Ireland senior international Jason Knight) lashed over from just inside the opposition box on nine minutes.

Harps managed to curtail the Bray attacking threat to a certain degree as the tie progressed, but Barbosa was forced to turn behind Endri Mustali’s strike from a tight right-hand angle in the 24th minute.

The Ballybofey men also breathed a sigh of relief as the half-time whistle approached with Mustali firing over from another O’Shea cross on the left-flank. It looked like Harps might keep their deficit to the bare minimum at the break, but despite Barbosa producing a double save from Mustali on 42 minutes, McCormack produced a delicate finish off the same move to offer Bray a 2-0 buffer heading into the dressing rooms.

While Harps had a penalty claim turned down four minutes after the restart when Fanle went to ground inside the area, Bray continued to control the tempo of the play. Yet the visitors from Donegal were beginning to develop some periods of controlled possession, and McLaughlin was a lively presence in attack.

Having already added the experienced Tony McNamee to the mix for the start of the second period, the Harps management also introduced the aforementioned Doherty in a bid to force their way back into contention. However, addressing their two-goal deficit was always going to be difficult, and it was made all the more arduous when Max Hutchison was sent off for a second yellow card offence virtually on the stroke of the third-quarter mark.

This increased the pressure on the Harps defence, and after going close on a number of occasions, Bray claimed a third goal when Kyle Tucker broke forward into the opposition half and put the ball on a plate for his fellow substitute Tyreik Sammy to apply a simple finish from close range.

This placed the final outcome beyond any doubt, but there was enough time left for O’Shea and Sammy to contribute additional Seagulls goals and complete a difficult evening at the office for Finn Harps.

Bray Wanderers: Rian Hogan; Alain Kizenga (Jamie Duggan 83), Declan Osagie, Benjamin Fagbemi, Dean O’Shea; John Bilili Sesay (Jamie Ryan 77); Ifunanyachi Achara, Richard Ferizaj, Ben McCormack (Kyle Tucker 77), Conor Knight (Ajibola Oluwabiyi 64); Endri Mustali (Tyreik Sammy 64).

Finn Harps: Lorenzo Piaia Barbosa; Josh Cullen, Max Hutchison, Oran Brogan, Alex Fanle Darragh Coyle; Ciaron Harkin; Aaron McLaughlin (Lukas Doherty 64), Gavin McAteer, Guilherme Rego Priosti (Tony McNamee 46), Bernardo Monteiro (Guilherme Tavares 77).

Referee: Lucas Keating (Cork).