Murphy down after Cobh’s loss
SOCCER
Daire Walsh
COBH RAMBLERS midfield Darren Murphy admitted his side shot themselves in the foot at Stradbrook last Friday evening, when they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Cabinteely in the SSE Airtricity League First Division.
Early Cabinteely goals in each half by Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters and Paul Fox meant that Cobh were chasing the game throughout, and though he believes the six point gap that separates them from league leaders Waterford is far from insurmountable, he was disappointed to lose out to the south Dubliners.
“It was very disappointing really, to be honest. We just shot ourselves in the foot twice. We feel like we were the better team, we kind of played more football. Kept the ball more, but we didn’t really create enough. It was just the two mistakes. We’ll get over it,” Murphy remarked after the game.
“Six points at the end of the day is nothing in this league. We know Waterford won their game. We’re going to keep going, nine games left. Anything can happen, so we’re just going to keep going.”
This was Murphy’s first league start of the 2017 campaign, which has been severely disrupted by injury. He formed a three-man central midfield with Craig Donnellan and Cian Coleman, and is comfortable in either a defensive or attacking role.
“I came into pre-season with an injury with my ankle. It took me a while to get back from that, and then the lads are doing so well, winning every week. I just kept going, kept training hard and got in tonight. Hopefully I can stay there as long as I can.
“I don’t really mind where I play in midfield. I play anywhere, sitting role or attacking role. I’m comfortable in either role, so once I’m playing I’m happy enough.”
In spite of this latest loss, Cobh will be aiming to maintain their push for promotion heading into the final weeks of the season. With nine games remaining, Murphy is adamant that they will keep fighting for top honours in the second-tier.
“We’re just going to focus on ourselves as much as we can. We just have to go on a run now. It was disappointing in the last few games, but we’ve got a good bunch of lads here. We’ll keep going, and we’ll keep fighting.”
Indeed, Saturday’s home encounter against UCD (who are marginally ahead of Ramblers on score difference) provides Cobh with the perfect opportunity to get their season back on track, and Murphy is looking forward to a massive test with the Students.
“We’re back there [St Colman’s Park] now next week against UCD, which will be a tough game as well, but we fancy ourselves against anyone to be honest with you. We look forward to that one now.”
“It’s between the two of us to keep the pressure on Waterford, so we don’t want to see them running away with it. That would be disappointing, it would be a bad end to the league. Its been a good league this year, the three of us have been up there. We have to get back to winning ways,” Murphy added.