Cobh Ramblers can get back on track at home to Athlone Town

Cobh Ramblers will look go get back to winning ways this Friday when they welcome Athlone Town to St. Colman's Park, 7.45pm.

Fran Rockett and his players will go into this game reeling from successive defeats to UCD and Bray Wanderers, a series of results that pushed the club down to sixth place and out of the play-offs places in the First Division.

Athlone Town arrive in fourth, with 22 points from 15 games, and a win for Cobh could propel them back into the top six.

Ramblers' issue is goals, as their goal difference is currently -7 after last week's 5-1 hammering by Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds. There's only been one standout attacking performance this season, a 4-0 victory over Treaty United on Easter Monday at St. Colman’s Park, and every other win has been hard fought and by the bare minimum.

A number of factors can be attributed to this. There's Wilson Waweru, the striker brought in from Sligo Rovers, not scoring a league goal since his arrival in East Cork, the long-term injury to midfielder Shane T Griffin after he tallied seven goals and seven assists last year, and the absence of a pure Plan B for Rockett and his management team.

Cobh have still ground out results, with Dylan McGlade leading the way in recent weeks after bagging six goals in his last eight games including the winner against Cork City at the Munster FA Turner' Cross Stadium.

All of this is from the left wing, in an attack that is often held together by Rhys Gourdie. The right side is an issue, as Rockett has tinkered with Claudio Osorio and Anthony Adenopo.

INCONSISTENT

It's a work in progress, while Cobh continue to get results which is the most important thing. Consistency is now needed for a team looking to get back to winning ways after a near-total self-combustion last Friday in Bray.

The Ramblers went up as favourites, following on from their performances against Cork City and UCD.

The Seagulls were without a win in seven, with the only exception being a penalty shootout victory over Drogheda United in the Leinster Senior Cup.

What played out was an evening of complete madness from a Cobh point of view as Ben McCormack hit a first-half hat-trick. Rhys Kelly Noonan did make it 4-1 after John Bilili Sesay scored but the hosts wrapped it up with a Tyreik Sammy penalty.

The result was a reality check after experiencing life at the top by ending Cork City's unbeaten run, at Turner's Cross of all places.

Athlone Town are now travelling down to the Great Island without a loss in their last five games. That stretch of the season has included a hat-trick of draws with Treaty United, Kerry, and Longford Town, and victories over Finn Harps and Bray Wanderers.

Goals has been their issue as they've registered just one over the last 180 minutes of football, in the midlands derby on Bank Holiday Monday.

This will be the second meeting between Cobh and Athlone Town, their first at St Colman's Park.

Their first encounter was at Lissywollen, and Athlone enjoyed a 2-0 victory on home soil. That was a frustrating night by all accounts for Cobh as the game started with a missed Gourdie penalty, and the second half began with Patrick Ferry and Aaron Connolly scoring for Athlone.

Cian Coleman also picked up an injury that sidelined the defender for almost eight weeks, to add salt into the wound.

The Ramblers squad is mostly back to full fitness, with Shane T. Griffin and Coleman now back after getting minutes against Bray last Friday.

This comes at a key time in the season, as the club moves towards the midseason break and looks to establish itself with the play-off picture.

Finishing in the top six is the goal, even if there's five months of football left to play. Cobh have done a lot of hard work, and it's within their hands at a key point of the season.