Forty years now since St Patrick's Athletic last won this competition and that wait goes on for another year as they crashed out to a team they had beaten 2-0 home and away this season. The media heaped the praise on Bray's battling performance which saw them reverse the form and the results of the last two league encounters between these Premier teams.
Philip Keogh's winning goal was a very good finish as proved by subsequent tv replays on RTE news bulletins, but it was a rare moment of control in a typically scrappy and frantic cup tie.
The Saints responded immediately by raising the tempo as the game started to shift towards the Bray end of the pitch.
According to Emmet Malone in the Irish Times Ger McCarthy "never caused any problems while Mbabazi was generally at the sort of range where something spectacular would have been required to trouble Matt Gregg." It was a fairly accurate summary of the poorness of the Saints attack on the night. The sight of battling, but injured forward Liam Kelly hobbling onto Emmet Road on crutches did not inspire many hopes among Saints fans looking for an early Cup Christmas present.
The best chance of the game fell to stand in striker, Kevin Doyle, after eight minutes into the second half when Trevor Croly's misfired shot was chested into his path only for the young Wexford man to slice his side-footer high over the bar. It was the let off that Bray needed to keep their grip on the slender one goal advantage.
Six minutes later McCarthy slipped Michael Holt clear into the box only for the substitute to miss the target too. Bray held out with a good mixture of determined tackling and quick counter attacking as the Saints bowed out of the cup once again.
St Patrick's Athletic: Kelly; Croly, Foley, Maguire, Burke; Marney (McGuinness, 61 mins), Osam, Russell (Griffin, 80 mins); Mbabazi, McCarthy, Doyle (Holt, 67 mins).
Bray Wanderers: Gregg; Britton (Long, 86 mins), Doohan, Lynch, Farrell; Morgan, Tresson, Gormley, Keogh; Keegan, Fox.
Referee: D O'Hanlon (Waterford).
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