Turning down the offer of a ticket to England as a teenager was a gamble for Dubliner Brian Maher.

But after a pretty good return from this month alone, that gamble has paid off for the goalkeeper, who now hopes to use his senior debut in the traditional home of Irish football tonight as a stage for Bray Wanderers’ return to the top flight of the game.

Maher has already packed a lot into November. He turned 21 and cemented his place as No 1 ’keeper with the Ireland U-21 side, where his clean sheet helped bring about Tuesday’s win over Sweden. He kept back-to-back clean sheets in a promotion play-off defeat of Galway United, which has sent Gary Cronin’s side into tonight’s promotion play-off final against UCD at Dalymount Park.

“It’s been the biggest two weeks of my career, with so many big games in such a short spell, but I have enjoyed it, thrived on it. The two games with Galway in the play-offs, then the two U-21 matches and now the UCD play-off,” says Maher, first-choice at Bray after a spell as an understudy with St Patrick’s Athletic.

His career could have had a different outcome if he’d taken the boat to England when he had the chance. Getting his early chance with local club Raheny United, form with St Kevin’s Boys led to cross-channel interest, but staying in Dublin was more of an attraction for a player willing to bide his time.

“I had offers at St Kevin’s and again at Pat’s, but I just wasn’t ready. One or two deals just weren’t right for me. I knew I could be coming home at 18 with no education, I’d had offers when I was midway through sixth year, but I wanted to stay and do the Leaving,” he says.

“There were offers from England and Scotland, but nothing really appealed. I’d have been going over at 16 but staying suited me. I just wasn’t ready to go away at 16, certainly not on a two-year scholarship deal where I’d be back home at 17 or 18.”

After frustration with the lack of games at Pat’s, the move to Bray opened the door to first-team football. “Going to Bray at 19 and looking to play in the League of Ireland was a challenge in itself, but it was something I had to do. I knew if I wanted to stay in the Irish squads, I had to play at club level and it was a great move for me, working with really good people,” says Maher, who credits manager Cronin and goalkeeping coach Ian Fowler for his progress. Premier Division football is still the goal if they can outwit UCD tonight and then fend off the ninth-placed Premier side in another play-off.

“It would be huge for Bray to get back into the Premier. So many people at the club deserve to be there. It’s a really welcoming place. They treat players properly, and to get back up would be massive. As a club, they are worthy of being in the Premier,” he added.