Three sent off as Bray beat Pat’s

Jason Byrne and Darren Meenan were sensationally sent off as this clash reached boiling point in the second-half at Richmond Park last night.

A generally dour game exploded into an all out melee on 64 minutes, Bray incensed after St Patrick’s failed to put the ball out when their defender Shane O’Connor went down with cramp.

When Bray keeper Darren Quigley finally got the ball and threw it out of play, all hell broke loose. Bray’s veteran striker Byrne squared up to St Patrick’s Sean O’Connor with the winger going to ground a little too easily.

A bout of pushing and shoving ensued, but didn’t really kick off until Byrne was eventually sent off on the advice of assistant referee Dermot Broughton. So incensed was Byrne that he went for O’Connor as all players and both benches got involved in a right fracas on the pitch.

When some order was finally restored St Patrick’s winger Meenan was also dismissed for something referee Padraig Sutton saw.

St Patrick’s then also had Kenny Browne sent off for a foul on Marty Waters on 84 minutes, his second booking.

Waters then won the game for Bray three minutes later to throw a spanner in St Patrick’s title aspirations.

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC: Clarke; O’Brien, Kenna, Browne, Carroll; Bolger, Chambers, Coombes (J Kelly 90); Meenan, Fagan, O’Connor (Flood 79).

BRAY WANDERERS: Quigley, S O’Connor (Doyle 68), D O’Connor, Mitchell (Webster 42), Massey; Zambra (Marshall 34), Houston, Mulroy, K O‘Connor, Waters; Byrne.

Referee: Padraigh Sutton (Clare).