Cobh Ramblers in a great position after beating Wexford one nil in the away first leg of the playoffs

Wexford FC 0 

Cobh Ramblers 1 

AS both sets of fans provided an incredible atmosphere for this mouth-watering clash, it was Cobh Ramblers who came out on top for the first leg of their League of Ireland First Division play-off semi-final in Ferrycarrig Park on Tuesday night.

While their early goal was fortunate – an own goal from Cian O’Malley, or maybe Mikie Rowe will claim it as it was his corner that caused havoc in the box, Cobh won’t mind as they worked tirelessly for the 90 minutes and have put themselves in a strong position heading into Saturday night’s clash at St Colman’s Park (5pm).

The performances of Dean Larkin and Wilson Waweru stood out, but it was another incredible shift from a side who have defied expectations at every stage this season.

Wexford came very close to taking the lead after two minutes, as Reece Webb’s pace allowed him to race down the wing and into space, before squaring it to Darragh Levingston. T

he midifielder struck it first time, but he put too much curl on his effort, and it dragged wide.

Jack Doherty forged the first shot on target of the night as he struck his free kick sweetly, but Wexford goalkeeper Charlie Heffernan was quick to react and turned it around the post for a corner.

The ensuing corner was chaotic, as Mikie Rowe crossed it into a sea of Wexford jerseys all crowding the six-yard box. 

Ethan Boyle missed the header, before Heffernan punched it off Cian O’Malley, and it then bounced into the Wexford net, putting the Rams ahead after 14 minutes.

Wexford went up the other end looking for a quick equaliser, and Corban Piper forced Lee Steacy into a world class save. 

Cobh created their second chance after 23 minutes, again from a free kick, this time as Doherty opted to cross rather than shoot, and he found Justin Eguaibor. 

The centre-back poked it, but he couldn’t direct his effort into either corner and it was an easy save for Heffernan.

The Rams certainly had the edge for the first 30 minutes, bringing a level of pressing intensity that Wexford struggled to match.

With 33 minutes gone Rowe hit the crossbar after an exceptional free kick from a tight angle, as his curling effort wouldn’t dip quickly enough for the Galway loanee.

The Rams maintained concentrated pressure on Wexford but couldn’t find a second goal before the short whistle, which was vital for the hosts who had struggled to get out of their own half of the field for the majority of the first period.

Steacy was forced into a double save in the 55th minute, but he parried the second across the line. It slowed on the line before Dean Larkin slid in and cleared it away ahead of the chasing Thomas Oluwa.

Wexford did improve in the second half, and while they created more chances, they were wasteful in the final third, and had nothing to show for their improvement by the hour mark.

Cobh did come close to scoring a second as one of Cian Browne’s trademark long throws found Dean Larkin, but Heffernan caught his headed effort well.

Wilson Waweru’s pressing efforts forced a turnover as Heffernan had to kick the ball out for a throw in and it provided a huge morale boost for the away side.

They fought on and created half-chances aplenty, as Wexford continued to give away possession and make mistakes with what felt like every opportunity on the ball.

The hosts did eventually find a purple patch in the last 20 minutes, but the Rams defence kept working and proved to be impenetrable. After defending what felt like over a dozen crosses while under pressure and on the back foot, Cobh finally broke through as Charlie Lyons set Browne and Waweru off on a counterattack, and it spurred them back into control.

They held out for what was a good win, but there’s still a home leg to come.

WEXFORD FC: C Heffernan; J Crawford, L Browne, C O’Malley, R Webb; D Levingston, E Boyle, C Piper (L Lovic HT); K Corbally (M Hanratty 71), A Dobbs, T Oluwa (D Furlong 71).

COBH RAMBLERS: L Steacy; J Eguaibor, D Larkin, C Lyons; C Browne, P Phillips (A Byrne 75), J Abbott (D Holland 87), J O’Leary (T O’Brien 90); W Waweru, J Doherty, M Rowe (L Desmond 87).

Referee: Alan Patchell