Bray 3 (Wendy Adams 2, Cathy Brock) Three Rock Ladies (Brigid Charmant) aet
Wendy Adams extra-time double meant Bray stayed in division one as they held off the challenge of Three Rock Ladies - division two's best placed first team - after a hard-fought battle at Wesley.
It was a hastily arranged fixture at Wesley, the sides only receiving confirmation of the tie on Thursday night before Bray were also dealt a tough blow on the eve of Saturday's tie when Mary Goode was withdrawn due to her Ireland commitments.
Her stand-in, Barbara Snow, had a solid performance, keeping out all bar one of Three Rock's seven penalty corners as well as making a couple of timely interventions. Bray largely held the balance of play, with Linda O'Neill's darting runs a constant threat, and took the lead in the seventh minute via Cathy Brock's corner move.
Brigid Charmant levelled with a corner of her own soon after. Both sides were unable to capitalise on a player advantage during normal time as Bray's Emer Willis (not retreating) and Three Rock's Suzanne Mellon (diving tackle) endured spells with ten players.
Charmant slipped one chance just wide of Snow's near post while Rovers had the slightly clearer chances on the breakaway.
However, they cracked the code in extra-time when Adams battled to dig out her own rebound from Fitzsimons' pads to flick into the net 90 seconds from the first whistle and tapped in from O'Neill's superb right wing run in the 89th minute to complete the win, with her side almost too tired to celebrate in the searing Ballinteer sun.
* For more photos from the Bray vs Three Rock Ladies fixture, click here
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