Ramblers away to Waterford in tough Munster derby

TONIGHT, Cobh Ramblers travel to the RSC as they take on second-placed Waterford FC in the League of Ireland First Division. The Blues bounced back from their 2-1 defeat to Athlone Town with a convincing 4-0 win over 10-man Finn Harps in Donegal a week ago, while Cobh put up a second consecutive win and clean sheet as they beat Athlone last Saturday.

The last time these two met was at St Colman’s Park, with the Rams picking up an impressive 1-0 win back in June, though the previous encounter between the two in Waterford resulted in the Blues winning comfortably on a 5-0 scoreline, a result that Cobh certainly won’t want to endure again this Friday.

Though Waterford lie well clear of Cobh in second, they’re too far behind Galway United to make a late challenge on the title and will have one eye on the post-season playoffs.

With the Rams being a likely opponent for Keith Long’s side in the near future, they’ll certainly want to pick up three points and restore confidence in their promotion hopes.

The Blues have had a very impressive season so far with few slip ups, losing only twice in their last 17 league games. At the RSC Waterford have been very successful, only losing three times at home this season, while Cobh have not managed a win away against their Munster rivals since April 2016.

Looking ahead to tonight’s game in his post-match interview last week, Keegan remarks; “We got a bit of a hiding there the last day [in Waterford], I think they’re a serious side.

“The performance they gave against us that day was the [most] outstanding performance that we’ve run into this season, I watched them again last night, and again they were at their ease.

“They’ve got a tremendous amount of quality,” says Shane. “There’s probably too much of a gap for them to catch first, but they’re going to go into the playoffs as absolute nailed on the firmest of favourites, and that’s what we’re up against next week.

“At the same time, we can’t really be in a better place in terms of our own confidence and our own mentality, so let’s go and give it a decent crack.” Liam Kervick would have been ineligible regardless due to the terms of his loan contract, and while he’s still recovering from a broken wrist, he should be back within two to three weeks.

Mikie Rowe should be fit to play despite concerns he may have picked up an injury against Athlone, while Matthew McKevitt, who missed out last Saturday due to illness, should be back in contention. Pierce Phillips is expected to still be sidelined with the ankle injury he picked up against Galway.