Bray Wanderers FC

 I started my weeks holiday of sport with a trip to the Republic of Ireland, and the seaside resort of Bray, around 50 miles out of Dublin on the Dart train. A very picturesque promenade with plenty of seating, given the searing heat I was on the lookout for a seat in the shade, which I found of sorts, by perching on the wall of the band stand. I really can't stand sitting for hours in the baking sun and I had about 3hrs before the turnstiles were due to open. There were plenty of cabins and shops selling cold drinks and snacks, so I topped up my water and bought an excellent strawberry milkshake. I also bought two bags of Candy Floss Tayto crisps as presents to take home, these must be sold exclusively in Bray as I've never seen them before, they were received with mixed reviews with one bag still to be eaten.

After just chilling out and relaxing, listening to a half decent busker singing, I sauntered upto the ground, The Carlisle Grounds to be precise, which are absolutely ideally located just minutes from the promenade and literally over the road from the train station, if only every ground I visited was this convenient, groundhopping would be a doddle, albeit maybe not as interesting. I was shocked to find upon entering that my backpack was not permitted for entry, but instead of searching, Bray tag them and put them on a cloakroom for collection at full-time. So beware if visiting, travel light or if you need a bag don't leave any valuables in it is what I would say. This was a first for me in 30 years of watching football! The nearest thing I had to this was at Aberdeen, where I bought a mug in their club shop and then they didn't want to let me in with it which was equally as farcical. I did however collect my bag at the cloakroom with no issues at full time.

The ground is a good mixture of seating and terracing, I opted for the terracing along the near side. I was planning on having food at the ground and was greeted with a food van, my heart always sinks when this is all a club has to offer, but the loaded fries I opted for were passable, with cheese, bacon and leek albeit the ones at the bottom that were sat in a melted cheese mess were duly thrown in the bin. Bottle of coke purchased from the snack hatch behind the terracing, about 10 euros in all.

I was expecting a close game with the opposition being UCD, from the Bowl ground in Dublin, it was second vs third. Bray are tradionally well supported for the league and are perennial runners up, with a crowd of just over 800 in for this one, with a good 50 or so away fans, it made for a good atmosphere. The visitors started fairly solidly with both sides trying to play the right way and their didn't seem to be a lot in it with chances at both ends.

However after 18 minutes, the star of the show, winger, Achara, who has played a lot of his career in America, finished confidently after Bray forced UCD out of possession high up the pitch. Just minutes later he doubled the lead after a mix up in the penalty area. It remained 2-0 going into the half time interval and UCD looked done.

The impressive Ryan Kelly added a third just a minute into the second half before that man Achara got his hat trick minutes later following a fine passing move. If some UCD heads weren't down, then they were now. Dan Ring and Endri Mustali added two more to complete the rout at 6-0 and the score really did underline how dominant Bray were in the second half, with plenty to mull over for the opposition on the bus back to Dublin.