Eleventh league defeat for Cobh
League of Ireland
CABINTEELY…………………………….2
COBH RAMBLERS………………………0
Daire Walsh
COBH RAMBLERS conceded two goals in five minutes last night against Cabinteely, in Stradbrook. That was their 11th league defeat of the First Division season.
In addition to a strike by midfielder, Jack Watson, on 20 minutes, a subsequent Kevin Knight penalty compounded the woes of the St Colman’s Park outfit.
Having fallen behind to two early finishes at home to Galway United last Saturday, Cobh did much the same here. The barnstorming second-half fightback didn’t materialise.
For his side’s latest trip to the nominal home of Blackrock College RFC, Stephen Henderson opted for a 4-4-2 formation.
The front pair, Stephen Christopher and Chris Hull, were pitted against the organised Cabinteely back-three of Jack Tuite, Kieran Butler, and Knight.
In an initially low-key opening to the action, Hull headed past the target, via an enticing Ian Mylod cross on the left-wing. However, after Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters was marginally off-target on the half-volley, Cabinteely broke the deadlock in clinical style.
Following a delivery on the right-flank by marauding wing-back, Karl Byrne, Watson was on hand to fire home at the near post.
It went from bad to worse for the visitors when Waters was upended inside the area by Ramblers centre-half, James McSweeney. This presented Knight with an ideal opportunity to double the Cabinteely lead and he duly dispatched the spot-kick beyond the reach of Paul Hunt.
For the second game in succession, Cobh had been left with a massive mountain to climb. Although the hard-working Hull went close on a couple of occasions, Charlie Fleming denied Keith Dalton a third Cabinteely goal, with a brilliant, last-gasp block in the 39th-minute.
A similar challenge from Tuite halted Hull’s march towards goal on the resumption, when Ramblers added some much-needed urgency to their play. While the hosts largely maintained their composure in possession, they received a significant let-off just past the hour mark.
A slip by substitute, Paul Fox, provided Stephen Kenny with a clear path towards the posts, but the woodwork ultimately came to the rescue of the Metropolitans.
Kenny claimed a consolation at Eamonn Deacy Park last weekend, and a second goal in as many games would have offered Ramblers a fighting chance of success inside the final-quarter.
As it was, Cabinteely secured the maximum points on offer by closing out the game in a thoroughly professional manner. Cian Leonard and Denzil Fernandes added a fresh spark to the Cobh attack, but it wasn’t enough to swing the pendulum in their direction.
CABINTEELY: Stephen McGuinness; Jack Tuite, Kieran Butler, Kevin Knight; Karl Byrne, Conor Early, Keith Dalton, Jack Watson, Dean Casey (Paul Fox 61); Joe Doyle, Kieran ‘Marty’ Waters (Luke Clucks 85).
COBH RAMBLERS: Paul Hunt; Charlie Fleming, Ben O’Riordan, James McSweeney, Kevin Taylor; Stephen Kenny, Craig Donnellan, David Hurley (Denzil Fernandes 69), Ian Mylod (Andrew Wall 87); Stephen Christopher (Cian Leonard 60), Chris Hull.
Referee: Adriano Reale (Kildare).