Cobh Ramblers hoping to bounce back to winning ways at home to Finn Harps
Cobh Ramblers' Matthew Whelan in action last Friday. Picture: Patrick Browne
Cobh Ramblers are still just about alive in the race for the First Division title and they will look to take all three points from their meeting with Finn Harps this evening at St Colman’s Park, 7.45pm.
This follows a dramatic week that saw Mick McDermott’s side lose to Wexford FC and Dundalk suffer a shock defeat to Longford Town at Bishopsgate.
The Ramblers could have fell nine points behind the league leaders, instead things are exactly as they were before a ball was kicked last Friday. The state of play is simple, and Dundalk have to visit St Colman’s Park on the final day.
That’s the stuff of dreams for a football club that has only competed in the play-offs twice since their return to the League of Ireland in 2013.
This isn’t the team that went the distance and fell short to Drogheda or brought Waterford to extra-time in Turner’s Cross, Cobh now have very real aspirations of taking the next step by building a long-term sustainable project with promotion a very real aspiration.
This week, the only thing that matters around the island is getting the better of a Finn Harps.
The Ramblers have already played their northern counterparts three times this season and won their first two meetings, with their most recent meeting finishing as a 2-2 draw at Ballybofey.
McDermott’s side took the lead that night through a Barry Coffey penalty in the 20th minute and Hans Kamta Mpongo equalised before the break.
90 seconds later it was 2-1, with Coffey getting underneath a Cian Bargary cross and using the ground to guide the ball beyond the reach of Corey Sheridan.
The Ramblers pushed for a third in a bid to kill the game off, but nothing landed on a sticky night in Donegal.
At one point, a Cobh corner went to Cian Murphy inside the box and the striker’s touch allowed Harps to get in and win the ball back. This was a small moment of frustration, which was only exasperated by Tony McNamee making it 2-2 in the 66th minute.
McDermott went to his bench as he tried to reinvent his team, a decision that involved Rhys Gourdie and Matthew Whelan coming on to replace Shane W. Griffin and Samuel Bellis. Harps held firm during a late push for a winner, and in the end Kevin McHugh’s team were able to get a well-earned point on home soil.
The Ramblers have been involved in numerous high-scoring games, from Harps to UCD and last week’s defeat to Wexford, and each time they came up short. They also drew with Kerry FC at Mounthawk Park, after taking the lead through Gourdie on the hour mark.
Title winning teams are supposed to see these games out, as the stereotype goes. Cobh have struggled to gain that reputation in recent weeks, despite starting the season with mad comeback victories over Cork City and Treaty United.
Is this a sign of nerves, or the chaotic nature of a football league where potentially seven teams are capable of promotion?
It is a hard question to answer. A stated fact is that Finn Harps are one of those in contention as they currently sit in 7th place with 35 points collected.
One thing that does give McDermott’s side confidence is that Friday’s opponents were in action against Wexford FC on Monday and suffered a 3-1 defeat on home soil, with Gavin McAteer getting their goal in the 49th minute.
The visitors came back with former Cobh player Dean Larkin netting a hat-trick, his first of the season.
This bodes well for Cobh as Harps have to make the long journey down to east Cork while navigating a quick turnaround. The important thing for the squad is translating that small omen into a win on home soil.
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