SOCCER
Cobh suffer set-back at Cabinteely
CABINTEELY FC………………………………2
COBH RAMBLERS…………………………….1
Daire Walsh
COBH RAMBLERS suffered another set-back in their quest for promotion from the SSE Airtricity League First Division last night, when they were on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat against Cabinteely at Stradbrook.
Goals at the beginning of either half from Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters and Paul Fox left Cobh with a mountain to climb, and even though Cian Coleman pulled a goal back on 51 minutes, Cabinteely claimed the three points on offer.
Nine of the Cobh line-up had started their home friendly encounter with Norwich City on Wednesday evening, while Ireland underage international James McSweeney playing the full 90 minutes against the English Championship outfit.
He formed a back-three with Ben O’Riordan and captain Chris McCarthy in the south Dublin venue, but after McSweeney conceded possession from the kick-off, Waters opened the scoring with a curling left-footed effort that found its way past Ramblers’ netminder Paul Hunt.
There was just over 10 seconds gone when Waters fired Cabinteely in front, and following this early blow, Cobh struggled to gain a foothold in the game.
Craig Donnellan was prominent in possession for Cobh, though, and linked up with Shane Lowth on a number of occasions. Indeed, after the wing-back cut in from the right-flank on 25 minutes, he forced a fine save from Mick Kelly.
The hosts were content to sit deep for much of the half, and their disciplined defensive set-up was certainly frustrating Cobh. However, McCarthy’s header from a Donnellan free-kick was deflected over just past the half-hour mark, and Cabinteely received a hammer blow when skipper Daire Doyle (formerly of Coventry City and Kidderminster Harriers) limped out of the action.
His replacement – Rob McGee – was almost immediately yellow-carded for a late tackle, but despite increasing the pressure on Pat Devlin’s men, Ramblers remained behind at the midway point.
They were hoping to gather momentum in the home of Blackrock College RFC when the action resumed, but their task became even greater in the 48th-minute, as Cabinteely doubled their advantage.
A swift counter-attack placed them on the front-foot, and following a neat pass by Waters, winger Fox finished superbly from a tight left-hand angle.
Cobh looked to be heading towards their sixth defeat of the season, until they were given a potential lifeline in the form of a Coleman goal.
A Donnellan corner on the right-wing was played into the right area, and Coleman was able to divert the ball past Kelly from close-range. This helped to galvanise the Cobh challenge, and a long-distance Anthony O’Donnell piledriver almost restored parity from a subsequent attack.
The 55th-minute introduction of U19 star Gordon Walker provided fresh legs for Cobh, and Stephen Christopher was inches away from a connection to his enticing delivery from the right-hand side.
A Donnellan strike was also agonisingly wide of the target, and although Waters had an earlier attempt ruled out for offside, Cobh seemed the more likely of the two sides to score next. However, a Waters chance was cleared off the line by McSweeney 19 minutes from the end, and this was swiftly followed by a red-card for Christopher.
The Cobh forward was dismissed for an off-the-ball incident with Cabinteely’s Karl Byrne, but in spite of this numerical disadvantage, the away side continued to press for an equaliser. Matthew Whelan was brilliantly denied by a point-blank Kelly stop, and even though five minutes of injury-time kept Cabinteely on their toes, Cobh ultimately fell to their third loss in four league games.
CABINTEELY FC: Mick Kelly; Karl Byrne, Conor Keeley, Dylan Roche, Kevin Knight; Anto Dolan, Daire Doyle (Rob McGee 42), Jack Watson; Joe Doyle, Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters, Paul Fox (Evan Galvin 69).
COBH RAMBLERS: Paul Hunt; Ben O’Riordan, Chris McCarthy, James McSweeney; Shane Lowth (Gordon Walker 55), Craig Donnellan (Dean Swords 90), Cian Coleman, Darren Murphy, Anthony O’Donnell (Stephen O’Leary 87); Stephen Christopher, Matthew Whelan.
Referee: Paul McLaughlin (Donegal).