Shamrock Rovers 3 Bray Wanderers 2: Having been the victims of a whole array of goalscoring talent at Tolka Park last week, Bray were overrun by just one man last night at Dalymount Park. An outstanding display by Pat McCourt, who scored all of the home side's goals, was the major difference between two sides.
The 21-year-old may have failed to make it during four-and-a-half years at Rochdale in England, and the 11 under-21 caps he received for the North can not be taken as a conclusive indication of his quality.
But his form for Rovers since signing in the close season has already marked him out as one of the league's most gifted creative players, and his six goals in eight games suggest he is at least as polished in the finishing department as anyone at Shelbourne or Cork.
McCourt's influence on this game had been obvious long before he took to humiliating defenders and winning the contest single-handedly. On a handful of occasions through the opening stages of the first half he had opened Bray up with through balls from midfield or runs into the box, but each time the finish provided by a team-mate was well short of what was required, and his frustration grew increasingly hard to disguise.
It was an open game, but with a brief spell in the opening minutes when Stephen Fox twice went close to hitting the target for Wanderers aside, Bray had looked second best through the opening half, with the home side's movement and passing from midfield forward causing their opponents no end of problems.
Trevor Molloy and Keith Doyle used the ball well from wide positions while Gavin McDonnell and Paul Caffrey worked hard to provide cover for the defence.
But their key role, it seemed, was to win the ball and channel it forward to McCourt who sat fractionally behind Mark Rutherford and David Mooney. It was simple but effective stuff and the northerner happily did all that was required of him.
A fine header from Collie James had given Bray the first goal of the game, but it hardly compared with what followed. Clearly tired of seeing others squander the fruits of his efforts, McCourt sidestepped a couple of players on the edge of the box eight minutes after James's effort and then sent the ball soaring past Chris O'Connor from 20 yards.
His second, in the final seconds before the break, was better, with an almost nonchalant run into the lefthand side of the area that left three Bray players looking embarrassed, followed by a curling shot into the bottom-right corner that O'Connor can barely have seen before it crossed the line.
The hat-trick was completed from the penalty spot with 26 minutes remaining.
The third goal went a long way towards making the game safe too, although Eamon Zayed, perhaps conscious of the extent to which he was being upstaged, weaved his way through half the home side's players only to fire his shot straight at Russell Payne.
Zayed then had a hand in his side's second, which was pushed home from close range by Philip Keogh, but late pressure came to nothing and the ovation McCourt received as he departed three minutes from time was matched only by the cheer that greeted a final whistle that confirmed a second win of the season for Roddy Collins's side.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Payne; Gavin, McGuinness, Gough; Molloy, McDonnell, Rutherford, Doyle; McCourt (Cameron, 87 mins); Mooney, Rutherford.
BRAY WANDERERS: O'Connor; O'Hanlon, Lynch, Charles, Keogh; James (McGuinness, 69 mins), Long (O'Brien, 84 mins), Tresson, Ryan (Dunne, 69 mins); Zayed, Fox.
Referee: P Tuite (Dublin).
