Rovers implode with two red cards

Bray Wanderers 3 Shamrock Rovers 0

Shamrock Rovers' title hopes all but ended as they finished with nine men at the Carlisle Grounds tonight.

Goalkeeper Barry Murphy was first to see red for handling a back header from defender Ger O'Brien outside the area on 34 minutes.

Midfielder Paul Shiels joined him just five minutes later when he received a straight red for stupidly raising his right hand to Bray's Paul Caffrey.

Bray, who had been the better side up until the first red card anyway, naturally dominated the game thereafter getting the opener on 53 minutes.

Midfielder Alan Cawley let fly from all of 30 yards and found the top corner despite John McGuinness getting a hand to the ball.

Clive Delaney sealed the result when latching onto Paul Dunphy's lay off on 81 minutes.

A minute later O'Shea cracked home a low drive for the third after good work by Stephen Fox.

The result means Rovers stay second in the table, though they are a surely insurmountable eight points behind leader Drogheda United with six games to play.

It was a big win for Bray - their first in nine league games - as it moves them six ahead of second bottom Waterford Untied and they have a game in hand.