Erratic passing cost Cobh
REACTION
Daire Walsh
THE concession of a brace of opening-quarter goals proved to be the downfall of Cobh Ramblers on Saturday evening, as the St Colman’s Park side ended their SSE Airtricity League First Division campaign with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Shelbourne.
This result means that Cobh will finish in sixth-place in the second-tier table, but because of the injuries that the squad has encountered in recent weeks, Ramblers manager Stephen Henderson felt that they acquitted themselves quite well on the night.
“The match itself, the best team won. Simple as that. Our passing was very erratic today. We couldn’t hold onto the ball, but that would be down to the training. We were training with six and eight players all week,” Henderson remarked.
“I just [have to] thank the players, because there was eight of them out there today carrying injuries. The three on the bench were carrying [injuries], and these are injuries they shouldn’t be playing with.
“I felt terrible asking some of them to play, but such is the squad. We’ve only 15 or 16 players. We gave a reasonably good account of ourselves, under the circumstances.”
Indeed, Stephen Kenny had a 49th minute spot-kick saved by Shelbourne’s Jack Brady, and Henderson believes that a goal at this time could have been a turning point in the contest.
“I think if we had of scored the peno early, the way they did, I think we could have kicked on. We didn’t. Stevie [Kenny] never looked comfortable taking it. I had a bad feeling when I saw the way he was approaching it. That was synonymous with how we played.”
Although it has been a disappointing end to the season from a results point of view, there were a lot of encouraging signs for Cobh throughout the season. As he reflects on the precarious financial position Ramblers found themselves in at the start of the year, Henderson is thankful for the support that various groups have provided to the club.
“People don’t understand how close Cobh Ramblers were to going out of existence. Until this new committee came on board, and then thanks to the players getting results on the pitch, and lifting us off that bottom spot, and getting us up around the mid-table.
“There was a lot of positivity came back into the ground. There’s no excuses there. Our priority was to keep that club going.
“We’re in a very healthy position, and next year we can start preparing properly, and the players know they are playing for a club that are stable and we’ll mind them in the way that they should be minded,” Henderson added.