Shamrock Rovers showed little mercy to bottom club Bray Wanderers as they secured a 4-1 win at Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening.

 

The Hoops went ahead on 15 minutes when Sean Houston put the ball into his own net and that was quickly followed by a goal from midfielder Stephen Rice.

 

Top scorer Gary Twigg then added a brace to send Michael O'Neill's in at the break leading by a considerable margin and even a late strike from Gary Dempsey could not spoil Rovers' night.

 

From the very start, Rovers started with purpose as Bray keeper Matt Gregg was forced to block what would have been an own goal by Derek Prendergast, while Twigg hooked an effort over following a long throw-in.

 

But they didn't have to wait long to open the scoring when Billy Dennehy fired a low cross into the opposition's penalty area that caused confusion for Gregg and Houston, who unfortunately put it into his own net.

 

Paddy Kavanagh could have doubled the home side's lead soon after that, but Rice made no mistake when he raced onto a pass from Twigg to fire in and make it 2-0.

 

Just before the half-time whistle sounded, Twigg got his first of the evening as he cleverly peeled away from his marker to connect with Danny Murphy's cross and convert from close range.

 

It was all Rovers as James Chambers brought the best out of Gregg and then had another shot cleared off the line, although Twigg was able to light up the scoreboard again when he slotted in following some excellent play from Neale Fenn.

 

The game was as good as over when Dempsey blasted in from the edge of the box. It came too late to make a difference, but this game was all about Rovers' offensive power and they deserved to take the three points.

 

Shamrock Rovers: Mannus; Chambers, Price, Murray (Flynn HT), Murphy; Kavanagh, Rice, Bradley (Turner 58), Dennehy; Fenn, Twigg (Stewart 45). 

 

Bray Wanderers: Gregg; Webster, O'Connor, Prendergast, Houston; Zambra, Dempsey (Tresson 89) O'Connor (Kavanagh 59), Kelly; O'Neill, Mulroy (Massey 56). 

 

Referee: D Hancock (Dublin).