Cobh Ramblers keep playoff bid on track with victory over Bray Wanderers

Cobh Wanderers 3 Bray Wanderers 1 

Cobh Ramblers came from behind to defeat promotion rivals Bray Wanderers at St Colman’s Park.

Cian Murphy, Barry Coffey, and John O’Donovan were on target on a night that opened with Billy O’Neill scoring in just the second minute.

The result also cuts the gap to Dundalk to four points following their draw with Athlone Town at Lissywollen.

The Ramblers were out to give another exhibition of the form that has seen just one defeat in their last nine league games, a run that goes back to the end of July.

The coaching team kept the spine from this stretch intact with just one change made to the group that beat Finn Harps 4-1 last week at St Colman’s Park. That involved putting Shane Griffin in at left back, in place of John O’Donovan in their traditional 4-2-3-1 formation.

O’Neill scored with his right boot just as this group settled, after latching onto a long ball over the top from Justin Ferizaj and getting passed an onrushing Cian Coleman.

The Ramblers immediately responded with a deep cross finding Murphy and the striker was able to hit the back of the net with a volley in the fifth minute.

It was end to end from that point, with chances falling to both teams as they looked to make a statement against a team they could meet in the play-offs if they fail to catch Dundalk.

Justin Ferizaj was one of those that got in during this spell, and his effort was stopped by Timothy Martin. Coffey responded with a header off a Dylan McGlade cross and the ball went straight into the hands of Jimmy Corcoran.

The midfielder made up for the miss with his next attempt by collecting a Cian Murphy cross and slotting passed the Bray goalkeeper in the 44th minute.

The second half saw more of the same, with Jonas Hakkinen often the difference in key moments as the defender made a string of interceptions as the visitors tried passing their way into space.

The Seagulls eventually went to the bench in a bid to rejig their whole operation, with Paul Murphy, Cian Kurtis, and Rhys Knight all coming on in the 58th minute.

Cobh held firm and managed to extend their lead through O’Donovan in the 80th minute, just seconds after the defender replaced McGlade.

The defender’s second goal of the season followed his close range strike against Kerry last January in the Munster Senior Cup, and it ended a fight that never really got going.

COBH: Timothy Martin; Iestyn Hughes, Cian Coleman, Jonas Hakkinen, Shane Griffin, Niall O’Keeffe, Rhys Gourdie, Cian Bargary, Barry Coffey, Cian Murphy.

Subs: John O’Donovan for McGlade (79); Samuel Bellis for Bargary (82).

BRAY: Jimmy Corcoran; Killian Cantwell, Max Murphy, Harvey Warren, Alain Kizenga, Conor Knight, Justin Ferizaj, Richard Ferizaj, Sean Brennan, Matthew Britton, Billy O’Neill.

Subs: Paul Murphy for Warren (58); Cian Kurtis for Britton (58), Rhys Knight for R Ferizaj (58), Cristiano Bramley for Conor Knight (81).

Referee: Declan Toland