Cobh Ramblers head to Limerick needing to beat Treaty to stay in play-off hunt

Cobh Ramblers will look to take maximum points from their remaining fixtures before the midseason break and that includes defeating Treaty United this evening at the Markets Field, kick-off 7:45pm.

This follows a hard fought victory over Athlone Town, a result that propelled Fran Rockett and his players back into the play-off conversation.

That followed successive defeats to UCD and Bray Wanderers, as Cobh slipped out of the top five and ceded ground to those around them in the First Division.

The Ramblers rebounded with a hard fought win over an Athlone Town side that went to the Great Island without a loss in their previous five games. Cobh started quick but struggled to create a clear-cut chance, while the visitors grew into themselves in an attacking sense.

The turning point was an excellent Timothy Martin save to deny Brian McManus with a stretched save. 

Cobh broke when they got the ball back and targeted the right wing, where Kai O’Neill worked with Rhys Kelly Noonan to set up Dylan McGlade for a shot that was turned in for a goal at the Liam McMahon Stand.

Athlone rallied in the second half, and this drive ended in vain as a number of corners were knocked away by a defence that included Lucas Curtin and Brendeán Frahill.

The Ramblers now have an opportunity to build momentum before the break, beginning with a game with an inform Treaty United side at the Markets Field.

This will be the second meeting between the two teams and it follows a 4-0 hammering by Rockett and his players on Easter Monday at St. Colman’s Park.

The Ramblers dominated that encounter, with McGlade scoring a first half hat trick and O'Neill squeezing the ball in after the break.

That result was followed by an away win in Donegal over Finn Harps and a scoreless draw with Longford Town at St. Colman's Park, a four point haul that helped the club gain a foothold in the top five.

The Ramblers did stumble in recent weeks with their defeats to UCD and Bray Wanderers, but they corrected course by getting the better of Athlone Town.

This was done with a rejuvenated squad that included fit again Coleman and Shane T. Griffin, two players that had to deal with lengthy injury issues this season.

The star of the show after the full-time whistle was McGlade after winger got his seventh goal of the season, his second match winner in four games. Rockett heaped praise on the forward, while promising more in the weeks and months ahead.

“Outstanding – I see that performance every day of the week from Dylan and we all know his quality,” he said.

“But coming off the loss to Bray, we asked Dylan to do a job. He carried it out to the letter. You could see him working back. That is not what you expect from Dylan because everyone wants to see the other side of Dylan in the attacking third.

“But, to put in a shift like that and get the winner says it all. Against Cork City he was starved of the ball but he was excellent, and he got the winner again. Some people just smell that and he has that at the minute.

“He is on his way to having one of his best individual seasons and I still think the best is yet to come for him.” McGlade is expected to lead the attacking line for a Cobh side aiming to defeat a version of Treaty United that has not lost in four games.

This run of form has seen victories over Finn Harps and Wexford at the Markets Field and draws with Athlone Town and Bray Wanderers, a sequence of results that has reignited Treaty's play-off ambitions.

The Shannonsiders are still stuck to the bottom of the table, but they are now seven points from fifth and level with Kerry. That's a massive improvement given the start that saw three consecutive defeats, with promise of more to come going into the midseason break and the summer transfer window.

Cobh can see a source of points, but nothing can be taken for granted in this league.