Frahill is happy as Ramblers impress
SOCCER
Daire Walsh
COBH RAMBLERS picked up their 16th point of the current SSE Airtricity League First Division season at Tolka Park last Friday evening, when they played out an eventful 1-1 draw with Shelbourne.
This result followed an impressive home victory against Waterford United the previous weekend, and considering how threadbare the squad was for the contest, reliable Ramblers centre-half Brendan Frahill was delighted with the eventual outcome.
“It was tough yeah, especially in the second half there. I think we were missing a lot of players today in our squad.
“We only had two subs. We didn’t make the changes that we’d like to, but the lads did great and it’s a great result in the end,” Frahill stated.
Stephen Kenny had opened the scoring for Cobh in the first-half, before Shels striker Philip Hughes eventually restored parity in the second period. The visitors managed to dig deep during a nerve-wracking conclusion, however, and although he felt it was an excellent team effort on the night, Frahill reserved special praise for debutant James Furlong.
“A lot of people thought they were probably going to go and score another one, but we did well to keep them out. It was a great team effort.
“It’s his [Furlong’s] first game back and he did excellent when he was there. Fair play to him, and if he gets the fitness up, he’ll be flying.”
In addition to their solid work in defence, Cobh also had a number of fine performers in the final-third of the pitch.
Kenny, Shane O’Connor and Ryan Goldsmith made sizeable contributions against their north Dublin counterparts, and Frahill is hoping that they will continue to excel throughout the season.
“The boys when they get going and they’re together, they’re excellent. You saw there yourself sometimes the football they played in the first half, it’s very hard to defend.
“We’re lucky to have them, and hopefully they can keep on producing that.” With four points from the last six available, Stephen Henderson’s charges are started to gain momentum again, and after a difficult run of results, Frahill is aware of the importance of their most recent league encounters.