FAI Cup Semi-final/Drogheda Utd 2 Bray Wanderers 1: Billed, when the draw was made a few weeks back, as the game to decide the runners-up in this year's Carlsberg FAI Cup, the manner of Drogheda United's win at United Park yesterday will have done little to win over those who reckoned then that the silverware was destined for one of the league's top two.
Goals from Declan O'Brien and Jermaine Sandvliet gave Paul Doolin's side a win they undoubtedly deserved on the day but in a tight physical game in which neither side produced much football of real quality, their win had a good deal more grit than grace about it.
Few amongst the 4,000 capacity crowd appeared to care much about the performance or spectacle, though. Twice before United have made it to the final only to be beaten by Limerick in 1971 and Bohemians in 1976 and the constant chants of "Bring on the Langers" from the terrace suggested that in these parts at least there is a feeling Cork City can be beaten at Tolka Park on December 4th.
Having upset his opposite number through the week with his comments about the pace of United's progress over the past couple of years, Bray manager Pat Devlin attempted to surprise him too with a team reshaped along the lines of the one that beat Shelbourne at this stage of the competition six years ago.
This time around, though, United coped all too easily with what was thrown at them. Kieran O'Brien started the afternoon leading a three-man attack but after missing an early sitter made next to no impression up front and even before half-time Devlin had thrown big centre back Brian McGovern into the attack, just the first of many tactical and positional changes over the course of the 90 minutes.
On the balance of play, Bray Wanderers deserved no better than to be trailing at the break for they spent much of that opening period fighting a determined battle to curtail the home side's efforts to play through them from midfield and rarely posed anything approaching a threat at the other end of the field.
Devlin's decision to have the Drogheda strikers man marked worked well enough but starting with just three at the back looked less inspired as United's willingness to throw men forward continued to cause the visitors problems.
Had it not been for a confident display from Chris O'Connor, indeed, and another polished one from Colm Tresson the game might have been put beyond them from fairly early on.
It was scrappy stuff with neither side capable of imposing any sort of structure on the game and the locals, for all their superiority, were largely unable to carve out scoring chances of note from play.
That didn't prevent them taking the lead, though, just short of half an hour in when Simon Webb's 20-yard free clipped the wall and O'Brien gave his cult status another boost by reacting first to drive the loose ball home.
Having shifted Tresson into a more influential role in central midfield, Bray made a more even contest of it in the second-half but David Tyrell continued to pose the only serious threat to the United back four with his darting runs out on the left.
At the other end, the efforts of Bray's defence to smother the home side's efforts to grab a second must have made for uneasy viewing from the bench and it was at least as much to blame for Sandvliet's goal 10 minutes from time as the midfielder's composure as he first exchanged passes with O'Brien on the edge of the area and then curled the ball past O'Connor into the bottom right corner.
Within two minutes Tresson had pulled one back with a fine strike from 15 yards and United's nerve briefly seemed to falter.
As the crowd howled for the end, though, they held on and Doolin, while clearly thrilled with the result, was caustic about Devlin afterwards.
"I'm looking forward to the final because I have the height of respect for Cork City and their manager," he said in what might be described as considered management speak for what the supporters were singing outside.
"Unlike a few of the others," he added, "Damien (Richardson) hasn't had a go at us over what we've tried to achieve here by going full-time. I was disappointed by some of the stuff that came out of the Bray camp this week.
"Professional people don't behave like that but we've answered the criticism today and I'm delighted now for the club, the players, the fans and the town."
DROGHEDA UNITED: Connor; Lynch, Gray, Gartland, Webb; Robinson (Sullivan, half-time), Bradley, Whelan, Sandvliet; Ristila (Malcolm, 78 mins), O'Brien (Leech, 91 mins).
BRAY WANDERERS: O'Connor; Roche, Tresson, McGovern; Gifford, Fox, Kevin O'Brien (James, 65 mins), Keogh; Dunne (Georgescu, 78 mins), Kieran O'Brien (Murphy, 76 mins), Tyrell.
Referee: A Kelly (Cork).
