‘Cobh should have won game’
Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING last night’s game at the UCD Bowl, Cobh Ramblers manager Stephen Henderson stressed that his side should have come out on the right side of the result.
Gary O’Neill’s second-half penalty for UCD ultimately determined the outcome of the contest, but when he considers some of the chances they created against Collie O’Neill’s outfit, Henderson believes they deserved to get something from the game.
“I don’t think we deserved to lose that game.
“Especially in the first-half, I thought we were very good. Second-half, for the first 15, 20 minutes, we were probably a little bit deep.
“Didn’t play as well, and then when they got the goal, I think we upped the tempo again,” Henderson remarked.
“We were probably the better team on the night. Created the better chances, but they get the peno and away you go.
“Maxi [Kouogun, UCD defender] and Cian [Leonard] had a great battle, and I think Maxi just came out on top there.”
John Kavanagh (currently on-loan from their Premier Division neighbours Cork City) provided great width for City in a wing-back role, and Henderson is hopeful that teenage prospect Charlie Fleming – an unused substitute in the game – can learn from watching the 23-year-old in action.
“We have John on loan. You can see that he is on his way back to his best. Charlie Fleming, for us, is going to be a fabulous player.
“He’s still only a young player, 18, and I asked Charlie to have a look at John tonight and see what an experienced player in that position does.
“Charlie learnt a lot there tonight, and Charlie will be a superstar for us.”
Despite suffering back-to-back defeats to Waterford and UCD, Cobh are guaranteed a second place finish in this season’s First Division.
Henderson acknowledged that this is an excellent achievement for the club, but with just one team gaining promotion to next year’s re-structured top-flight, he admitted there is an element of disappointment as well.
“Overall, that’s a remarkable achievement for Cobh Ramblers. We are an amateur club in every aspect.
“We pushed Waterford to the last three games of the season, which is an incredible achievement out of us. At the same time, we’re disappointed. We have a group of Cork lads there that are absolutely phenomenal for us.
“We’re delighted with finishing runners-up, genuinely. It’s a great achievement for the club, but tinged with disappointment, because I think that league was there to be won this year.”