Bray Wanderers are in a strong position and in the play-offs places once again. It was all doom and gloom a few shorts weeks ago as they sat in sixth, but now the Seagulls rest in fourth but, most crucially, are five points clear of sixth-placed Longford and two clear of fifth-place Wexford. De Town climbed to sixth thanks to a 3-1 victory over Treaty United. Former Seagull Ben Feeney very briefly gave the Limerick outfit faint hope as he pulled it back to 1-2 in the 92nd minute, but Fran Campbell rubberstamped victory a minute later. UCD maintained second spot courtesy of a 1-0 triumph against Athlone Town. Niall Holohan secured the points for the Students with a strike in first-half stoppage time. Cobh Ramblers are next in the pecking order, and they enjoyed a 2-0 success over Kerry FC in St Colman’s Park. Rhys Gourdie and Wilson Waweru did the damage for the Cork side as Kerry failed to build on their come-from-behind 2-2 draw against Bray the previous week. In completely expected news, Cork City pumped Finn Harps 4-0 at Turner’s Cross. Very well, but we saw again that referees are not a sentimental bunch. Aaron O’Dowd was the man in the middle at the Carlisle Grounds on Friday. In the 82nd minute – with the game all but done at 3-0 – Paul Heffernan decided to withdraw Billy O’Neill and give him his moment in the spotlight. O’Neill wandered slightly towards the home section to applaud them and then began walking towards the dugout. But as he was closer, slightly, to the stand side; O’Dowd instructed him to go off on that side. O’Neill waved O’Dowd away and continued his walk and it resulted in him receiving a booking. O’Neill has history in falling foul of referees of course; he was sent off by Alan Patchell in the final home game of 2025 for dissent as he was being replaced. He must be cursed. The Bray native signed for Wexford FC in the days before Wexford’s first league game. The attacker was no stranger to injuries, sadly, throughout his young career, and a groin issue delayed his start to life in Ferrycarrig Park. He managed one half of football for their academy side in late March and again at the beginning of May. He scored, too. He was an unused sub for the first team against Longford and UCD in recent weeks and finally made his bow at the Carlisle Grounds on Friday. He came on in the 75th minute but pulled up in the 85th and his face told the story. Stephen Elliot came onto the pitch to console him before he limped off. He advised afterwards that it was a reoccurrence of the same groin issue and expects to be out for weeks rather than months. Football is famously a game of two halves. But Bray Wanderers only need one. It is not often that a side will score four goals in a single half, but that’s exactly what Heffernan’s side achieved last night as Dan Ring’s boys ran riot.