Dundalk suffered their first loss of pre-season at Oriel Park on Thursday night as Premier Division side Bray Wanderers continued their 100% record this year with a 2-0 win. After controlling the game and missing four clear-cut chances, Bray took the lead on 27 minutes with a long-range effort from Mark Duggan, before a Trevor Vaughan own-goal doubled their lead on the hour-mark to secure the Wicklow club a deserved victory.
 
John Gill started with a makeshift defence which included Aaron Shanahan, Stefan McKevitt, who made his first ever senior start for the club, and Ben Whelehan, who returned from a nine-month layoff to carry the captain’s armband, along with Ian Ryan and Shane Grimes. The midfield remained the same, bar one change, from the win over Saint Patrick’s Athletic on Tuesday night, as Jamie Duffy, Paul Marney and David Cassidy were joined by Robbie Martin on the left-wing. Trevor Vaughan and Robbie Farrell were the front pairing.
 
In a lively start which saw both sides have chances, Dundalk’s sole opening of the first period presented Robbie Farrell with a good opportunity, however, the striker hooked his effort high and wide as he attempted to lob Chris O’Connor in the Bray goal. Shortly after, Bray began to pressure, and John Mulroy, after a smart turn in the box, went within inches as his shot shaved the top of the crossbar.
 
Bray threatened again on 13 minutes as promising forward Emeka Onwubiko put Mulroy through, however, the youngster saw his shot gathered by Shanahan at the second attempt. Mulroy was then clean through once more minutes later, however, his attempted chip went horribly wrong as the home ‘keeper again gratefully gathered, before Shanahan was once again to the rescue as he thwarted yet another Mulroy effort.
 
As they continued to pressure, a Bray breakthrough seemed inevitable, and they deservedly took the lead just shy of the half-hour. The visitors broke sharply from a Dundalk set-piece through Onwubiko, and though there were two balls on the pitch, the referee waved play on. After eventually clearing following a scramble in the box, Dundalk failed to close down the clearance which went as far as Mark Duggan, who unleashed a superbly struck shot into Shanahan’s bottom left-hand corner from all of 30-yards.
 
Bray settled down after that and soaked up some pressure from Dundalk, whose efforts proved in vain. With his side putting in a flat performance, Gill decided upon making three changes at the break, with John Flanagan, who took over the captaincy, Paul Shiels and Davie O’Connor all entering in place of Ben Whelehan, David Cassidy and Robbie Farrell.
 
Those alterations failed to work the oracle, however, as Bray went close again on 54 minutes as Mulroy’s powerful header went narrowly over, before they deservedly doubled their lead on the hour, as a brilliantly struck free-kick from the left was headed into his own net by Vaughan. Wanderers then went close to making it three as Onwubiko’s shot from the edge of the box crashed back off the bottom of the post. A header from substitute John Flood was then tipped over, before Shanahan made another tremendous save as he went full-length to push away Paddy Kavanagh’s stinging 25-yard effort.
 
That was to prove Bray’s last opening as - after 17-year-old Youth-team star Billy Smith entered for his first ever senior appearance - Dundalk could have nicked a late consolation through Paul Smyth, however, O’Connor did enough to put the striker off as he fired wildly wide..