Cobh Ramblers target elusive derby win over Cork City at Turner's Cross 

It's Derby Day for Cobh Ramblers and Fran Rockett and his players are in the Munster FA Turner's Cross Stadium for a game with Cork City, kick-off 7:45pm.

This is part of a double game weekend that will include a visit of UCD to St. Colman’s Park on Monday.

The Ramblers will go into this stretch sitting in 6th place following last week’s 2-0 defeat to Wexford at Ferrycarrig Park.

They are now getting ready to play the top two ranked teams in the First Division, while keeping an eye on other games in the league involving UCD and Longford Town, and Longford Town and Athlone Town on Monday. Bray could also move up in the pecking order this weekend, as they will face Treaty United at home and Finn Harps in Donegal.

It might be May, but all of this feels crucial for Cobh and the play-off picture overall as the season hurtles towards the halfway stage.

The Derby will exist in its own right, as the Ramblers chase an elusive league win at the Munster FA Turner's Cross Stadium.

Cobh have tasted success here in recent seasons, by defeating Cork City in back to back Munster Senior Cup finals between 2022 and 2023, but those results exist in isolation given the order of merit between the three competitions the two clubs are involved in.

The league is their ‘bread and butter’ and that version of the derby has only come alive when City began their current cycle of promotion and relegation back in 2020.

The Ramblers have just one league win in that period, in a COVID quietened St. Colman’s Park in May 2021.

Corey Chambers is the only player wearing claret and blue involved that day, and the goalkeeper did not see action as Sean Barron was positioned in between the sticks. Cian Coleman and Dylan McGlade were with City, and they are now two mainstays in the Cobh team under Rockett.

The Rebel Army won a clean sweep in the league fixture in 2022 and 2024, despite some games being hard fought and won by a single goal. The Munster Senior Cup is the only place where the two teams have enjoyed some sense of parity, given Cobh’s victories over their local rivals in two successive finals.

For any other point of reference for a result at the Munster FA Turner's Cross Stadium, supporters would have to look at the second round of the 2006 edition of the League of Ireland Cup, when Davis Warren got the winner on night that saw Danny Murphy sent off for the home side.

The Ramblers have shown in recent years that they can trouble City, their 1-1 draw last time out is proof of that alone as Cobh caused the league leaders a number of problems under the lights at St. Colman’s Park.

The Rebel Army did take an early lead, through a Sean Maguire header at the back post in the 11th minute. The Ramblers responded by pushing up through the middle, where they struggled to breakdown a defence marshalled by Fiacre Kelleher before the defender was forced off with a head injury.

Slowly, Cobh came into their own after off balanced attempts by Garry Buckley and they went into the break just 1-0 down.

A Charlie Lyons foul on Cian Coleman in the 55th minute got them back into the game, as the defender was clipped as he tried picking up the second ball from a corner. A penalty was awarded and slotted in by Rhys Gourdie, who sent Conor Brann the wrong way beside the home supporters.

This re-energised Cobh pushed on with a Wilson Waweru shot at the near post pushed out by the City goalkeeper. The Rebel Army cleared to Maguire for a pass to Hans Mpongo, but his breakaway strike went over the bar.

It was a frantic finish, with no late winner. There is plenty to take confidence from going into Friday’s clash, it’s just getting over the derby nerves and doing it in front of a packed Munster FA Turner's Cross Stadium.