Cobh Ramblers boss left frustrated by late loss to UCD

A CRESTFALLEN Gary Hunt rues his side’s missed chances as Cobh Ramblers pick up the pieces from their 2-1 defeat to UCD at Turner’s Cross.

It looked like the home side had done enough to take the three points after Jack Larkin half-volleyed in a Matthew McKevitt pass midway through the second half.

Then Ciaran Behan forced in an equaliser at the 90th minute, and the Students set up Adam Wells to score the winner in the dying seconds of the game.

“Yeah – I’m disappointed,” were Hunt’s words after the final whistle.

“I thought we did enough. I thought we done enough to warrant the three points. A few moments of madness cost us at the end, not just one point but all points in the end. The boys are disappointed in the dressing room. We need to look back at it and take our medicine. We’ll look ahead. We can’t dwell on this. There’s plenty of more points available. We’ll dust ourselves off and we’ll go again."

A positive for the coach is the amount of chances his side are creating this season, but he knows that could work against them.

“Look – we’re making chances which is half the battle,” he said.

“The time will come when we’re not taking them and we’ll be punished similarly to tonight. 

The onus is on the players if we are making those chances and they are not putting them away.

“Maybe I’ll have to consider team selection, are they the right players on the pitch at the time? But, as I said, I was disappointed last week to not put some of those chances away and we rue them tonight over the end result. To be fair to the lads, I thought we were value for the three points and I thought there were some good individual performances all over the pitch,” he added.

“And again, I’m trying to put my finger on it. Did I make the wrong changes? Were the goals too soft from individual players? I’m not quite sure. 

"Up to 85 minutes, I thought Matthew McKevitt led the line very well. Dale Holland picked up an early booking and still managed to impose his game which is an all-action game on UCD. The boys won their duels at the back. It goes for very little now because we have nothing to sure for it." 

HECTIC

One positive for the coach is that he knows his team and his squad is settled ahead of a double-game weekend.

“There’s 11 players and they are picked for the first 11," Hunt said.

“They warranted to be in the first 11 and there’s guys knocking on the door who should be playing. When their chance comes, it is up to them to take it.

“We were three unbeaten going into tonight, so I don’t think it was a worry to make wholesale changes. Yes, we might look at it now but as I said; there’s a good squad there and not just the 11. We made one change. I have no worries about the lads when they come in, chances come and they will be ready to take them. I can see that motivation in those guys every week in training. That doesn’t faze us at all.”