UCDD4 Sep · Away Cobh Ramblers · 1:1D11 Sep · Home Athlone Town · 2:2L18 Sep · Away Cork City · 1:5L25 Sep · Home Bray Wanderers · 1:3W2 Oct · Away Treaty United · 4:0W16 Oct · Away Wexford · 5:2
1:3
Finished
Kick-off was
BST
Bray WanderersD4 Sep · Home Cork City · 1:1W11 Sep · Away Kerry FC · 1:0W18 Sep · Home Treaty United · 2:0W25 Sep · Away UCD · 3:1L2 Oct · Home Cobh Ramblers · 1:4L16 Oct · Away Finn Harps · 0:2
In the First Division game on 25 September 2026, Bray Wanderers beat UCD 1:3. Match numbers: shots on target 6:5, corners 5:1.
Match report
Bray Wanderers seize second place with visit to third-placed UCD
Bray Wanderers moved into second place in the First Division with a 3-1 victory over UCD at the Tallaght Stadium on Thursday evening. The hosts had sat third with 49 points, two ahead of their visitors, but the visitors took control before the interval and never looked back. We had backed the hosts at 41 per cent confidence, but the match went another way entirely.
And here's the thing — the game was decided in the opening half. B. McCormack opened the scoring in the 30th minute, and then R. Ferizaj and T. Sammy struck in quick succession after the break to put the visitors four goals ahead before UCD pulled one back. That 60th-minute strike from Sammy was the moment, really; by then the hosts were chasing shadows.
Bray picked up two bookings in five minutes around Ferizaj's goal, and the pattern of the match was set — the visitors had the deeper squad and made the most of it. UCD's substitutions came late, with A. Oluwabiyi and L. Dignam among those brought on in the second half, but they couldn't find a rhythm. The hosts have not won since their defeat to Cork City two weeks ago, and this only lengthened that run.
By then the statistics told the story without embellishment. UCD held 57 per cent possession and registered six shots on target, but Bray's accuracy was higher at 63 per cent and they needed fewer chances. The visitors won just one corner to the hosts' five, yet their efficiency was stark — five shots on target produced three goals, while UCD's six yielded only one.
The result reshuffles the table with a real bite to it. Bray now sit second on 50 points, one ahead of UCD at 49, and the gap between them could widen depending on Saturday's fixtures. The hosts will need to regroup quickly; they have a difficult run coming and cannot afford to lose ground at home.
What stood out was how Bray closed the game out without panic. They absorbed pressure after UCD's late goal from S. Norval in the 74th minute and saw out the remaining time without conceding again. The away end never stopped, and that kind of support matters when you're managing a lead against a home side that has the crowd behind them.
It's a result that rewards patience and clinical finishing. Bray didn't dominate possession or territory, but they took their chances and punished their opponents when it mattered. The hosts will look at the scoreline and wonder where it slipped away, but the truth is they were outthought and outplayed in the decisive moments.
Prepared from match data
Key numbers
Possession, %57.00–43
Shots on target6–5
Shots off target2–3
Attacks82–81
HT🟨10' J. Ryan — Yellow card🟨18' J. Duggan — Yellow card🟨24' M. Alonge — Yellow card⚽30' B. McCormack — Goal⚽56' R. Ferizaj — Goal🟨57' R. Ferizaj — Yellow card⚽60' T. Sammy — Goal⇄62' T. Morley — Substitution⇄62' H. Curtis — Substitution⇄62' M. Alonge — Substitution⇄63' R. Ferizaj — Substitution⇄63' M. McCullagh — Substitution⇄63' J. Ryan — Substitution🟨64' J. B. Sesay — Yellow card⇄71' A. Oluwabiyi — Substitution⚽74' S. Norval — Goal🟨75' A. Kizenga — Yellow card⇄80' J. B. Sesay — Substitution⇄80' T. Sammy — Substitution⇄84' L. Dignam — Substitution🟨90+3' I. Achara — Yellow card
D4 Sep · Home Cork City · 1:1W11 Sep · Away Kerry FC · 1:0W18 Sep · Home Treaty United · 2:0W25 Sep · Away UCD · 3:1L2 Oct · Home Cobh Ramblers · 1:4L16 Oct · Away Finn Harps · 0:2
