Walker and Murphy’s goals seal it for Ramblers U19s
U19 SOCCER
CABINTEELY U19……………………………………..1
COBH RAMBLERS U19……………………………….2
Daire Walsh
GOALS from Gordon Walker and Killian Murphy were crucial at Stradbrook yesterday when Cobh Ramblers claimed all three points in an U19 Southern Elite Division encounter against Cabinteely.
A 73rd-minute penalty from Jordan Andre kept Declan Coleman’s side on their toes in the closing moments, but an impressive Ramblers ultimately secured their third win of the campaign.
With skipper Troy O’Sullivan, Walker and John Browne operating as a back-three, Cobh made life difficult for the home team’s attack. Conor Hogan was forced into a save from a free-kick by Ronan Smith, before Cobh were awarded a penalty on 25 minutes.
After he was fouled in the area by Jamie Broderick, striker Darren Murphy stepped forward for the resulting spot-kick, only for Sean Hyland to produced a superb stop at the right-hand post. This was certainly a missed opportunity for Ramblers, but although Eoin Davis was replaced with an injury just shy of the half-hour mark, they ultimately broke the deadlock in the 36th-minute.
Cobh brought a slender advantage into the second period, which began with Cabinteely introducing substitute goalkeeper Ethan Farrell into the action.
He thwarted a Darren Murphy shot from a tight-angle, but couldn’t prevent Cobh from doubling their lead 20 minutes into the half. After a delivery by Ryan O’Regan on the left-flank was only half-cleared, Killian Murphy found the bottom right-hand corner of the Cabinteely net with a superb strike.
This placed Cobh in the driving seat, but they suffered a set-back inside the final-quarter, as O’Sullivan was adjudged to have fouled the lively Andre inside the 18-yard box. The Cabinteely sub fired beyond the reach of Hogan in clinical fashion, renewing John Paul Kelly’s charges’ confidence.
However, Cobh managed to regain their composure, and despite breathing a sigh of relief when Hogan clawed away a Craig Canty header, they held out for a deserved victory.
CABINTEELY U19: Sean Hyland (Ethan Farrell 46); Conor Murphy, Conor Maguire, Robert Keogh, Jamie Broderick; Cian Lynch, Ronan Smith (Adam Maher 88), Jack Hudson, Craig Canty (Sean Price 85); Ryan Byrne (Jordan Andre 61), Ronan O’Kelly (Ross Moloney 76).
COBH RAMBLERS U19: Conor Hogan; Troy O’Sullivan, Gordon Walker, John Browne; Kajus Vitkevicius, David Hurley, Peter Callanan, Killian Murphy, Ryan O’Regan (Ciaran Kearney 88); Eoin Davis (Keane Buckley 29), Darren Murphy (Stephen O’Leary 91).
Referee: Cillian O’Reilly.