Cobh aiming to record third successive victory this evening against Finn Harps

Cobh Ramblers will be out to make it three wins on the trot when they face Finn Harps this evening at Ballybofey in the League of Ireland first division.

This follows a transformative week for Fran Rockett and his players after they recorded back-to-back victories over Kerry FC and Treaty United over Easter, and moved up to sixth in the First Division table.

Dylan McGlade was the hero as the winger scored five times, including a hat-trick against the Shannonsiders, while Kai O’Neill contributed one.

Rockett is now looking at Harps and he wants his players to make the long journey to Donegal with no fear as they look to record another result on the road.

“Every game - every game is so, so difficult,” he said.

“I think Finn Harps drew 2-2 today against Bray as well, and Bray are no mean feat either, so it's a good result for them.

“We've got to go up there now with positivity. We have to give ourselves a nice cushion, but I think it's important now that we start believing in ourselves that bit more now because we have a threat in the attacking side from more than one player, it's a big plus for us moving forward. Clean sheets are [also] vital.

“Our way form has been really good, hence the Kerry and Longford games. I think we've nothing to fear. We've just got to keep believing and backing ourselves.” 

The Ramblers have now steadied the ship after a run of games that saw three draws and two defeats, as the club dropped into the bottom three. Cobh turned a corner over Easter, with McGlade leading the line with his first goals of the season. Bohemians loanee Rhys Kelly Noonan has also proven to be a handful for opposition defenders, while Wilson Waweru is an option off the bench for Rockett.

The coach is just happy to record back-to-back victories with the Treaty result down as their first home win of the season.

“It's one of those performances we've been waiting for,” Rockett said.

“I suppose with the quality we have in the dressing room, I think we were due. What was always in the back of our minds and our team talk at the start of the game [against Treaty], we owe the people in Cobh after that first game [against Wexford].

“We owe them a performance, but not just a performance, but something that we can work ourselves into the bone. I thought the boys were fantastic. I really, really did. I couldn't be any happier for them.

“It's not easy going back-to-back results, and that was the intention at the start of the weekend. We wanted the six points or to get as close to them as possible, and we did it.” 

 Cobh Ramblers will now try and win three games in a row for the first time since last August, against a Finn Harps side with very real aspirations of competing in the play-offs at the end of the season.

Kevin McHugh’s side have been one of the most consistent teams in the division this year, with just two losses incurred, and this has put them into seventh place with 11 points collected.

They were in action against Bray Wanderers on Easter Monday, and the game finished 2-2 at the Carlisle Grounds. 

That followed on from a scoreless draw with league leaders Cork City, and a narrow 1-0 victory over Longford Town at Bishopsgate.

Finn Harps have already played Cobh, in a scoreless draw last February at St. Colman’s Park.

The Ramblers opened the scoring that night with an O’Neill header from a Rhys Brennan cross in the dying minutes of the first half. 

Nathan Lumingo equalised for the visitors and a chance to win the game late on came off the cross bar from the boot of Jason Abbott.

Cobh will want more from their second meeting with Finn Harps, after their recent results against Kerry FC and Treaty United. 

They have Longford Town next week at home, meaning there’s a chance of a real play-off push over the coming weeks at St. Colman’s Park following a lukewarm March.