Pat Devlin is relishing a reunion with his 1999 FAI Cup-winning Bray Wanderers side at this weekend’s FAI Cup final as the jubilee team mark 25 years since their victory over Finn Harps – and he sees plenty of symmetry between past and present. Bray defeated Finn Harps at the third time of asking back in ’99 in an era where penalty shootouts had yet to be introduced to decide drawn finals. The first encounter had ended in a scoreless draw, while the first replay saw late drama as Bray snatched a 2-2 draw after extra time to make a trilogy of the showpiece.
The third game finally saw the pendulum swing and it was in Bray’s direction it went as Jason Byrne made the most of a first start in five months by notching a brace to make a cup final hero of himself. The team will be honoured prior to Sunday’s Aviva Stadium decider between Drogheda and Derry City and ahead of that, Devlin cast his mind back in time. ‘To prepare and organise for three finals was incredible,’ Devlin recalled.
‘The third game, we just couldn’t leave anything to chance. Jason Byrne had been injured for most of the year and he came back and scored two. ‘It was a totally different final than in 1990 [when Bray defeated St.
Francis], but it was the same feeling for everybody and I’m looking forward to meeting the lads [on Sunday]. ‘It’s gone by so quickly, time is an amazing thing – it only feels like yesterday really. ‘Any of the players that came through the club, when they’re .