Dylan McGlade strikes late in crucial Cobh Ramblers victory over Treaty United

Treaty United 1 Cobh Ramblers 2 

An injury-time penalty from Dylan McGlade was the difference as Cobh Ramblers came from behind to defeat Treaty United at the Markets Field.

After Cian Curtis opened the scoring, Wilson Waweru equalised and the game was decided from the spot over a foul on Rhys Gourdie inside the area.

The result has lifted Fran Rockett and his players up to fourth in the table, level on points with a Wexford side sitting in third.

This was a huge win, especially with the squad going to Limerick aiming to build on their hard-fought victory over Athlone Town in their last league game.

Rockett made three changes from that night with Lucas Curtin, Waweru, and Rhys Brennan replacing Cian Coleman, Kai O’Neill, and Rhys Kelly Noonan in their tried and tested 4-2-3-1 formation.

Treaty United were out to keep their good run of form going after recording two wins and two draws in their last four games. This meant Tommy Barrett’s side had form and confidence, and this reflected in a selection that saw just one change from their meeting with Finn Harps last Friday.

Darren Nwankwo was replaced by Fionn Doherty in a team that set out to take control of proceedings early on by dominating possession in the middle of the park. The Ramblers were dragged into this battle, as Jason Abbott and Oran Crowe duelled with Steven Healy and Ronan Manning.

This led to a slow game, with chances few and far between. Cian Curtis and Jason Folarin Oyenuga did create problems down the right for Treaty, and their reward was a corner won in the 8th minute. The Ramblers were able to deal with this, before seeing a chance for Gourdie go just over the bar at the other end.

This was as good as it got for both teams in an attacking sense, and it was scoreless at the break in Limerick.

That continued in the second half and Barrett went to his bench in a bid to get something going, with Ben Feeney and Mark Byrne replacing Doherty and Oyenuga in the 56th minute.

Byrne’s arrival marked a turning point, as he was able to play a neat pass through to Curtis. The midfielder latched onto the ball and slotted in, via the inside of the post, and Treaty led in the 62nd minute.

The Ramblers hit back with a deep cross from the right, and Waweru was able to head this beyond the reach of Jack Brady in the 65th minute.

A new game had been created in a matter of seconds, and Rockett was determined to build on this. This led to the introductions of Shane T. Griffin and Kelly Noonan, two attack-minded substitutions, as the coach looked to get a late winner.

It came down to a foul on Gourdie in the 89th minute as the midfielder tried to get control of the ball. McGlade stepped up and made no mistake when facing Brady as the clock turned red.

TREATY: Jack Brady; Eric Yoro, Benjamin Lynch, Robbie Lynch, Richkov Boevi; Cian Curtis, Fionn Doherty, Steven Healy, Ronan Manning; Mark Murphy, Jason Folarin Oyenuga.

Subs: Ben Feeney for Doherty (56); Mark Byrne for Oyenuga (56), Colin Conroy for Healy (71), Raphael Ohin for Manning (90).

COBH: Timothy Martin; Luka Le Bervet, Brendeán Frahill, Shane Griffin, Lucas Curtin; Jason Abbott, Oran Crowe; Wilson Waweru, Rhys Gourdie, Dylan McGlade; Rhys Brennan.

Subs: Shane T. Griffin for Abbott (66); Rhys Kelly Noonan for Waweru (71), Mikey Carroll for Crowe (85), Anthony Adenopo for Brennan (85).

Referee: Mark Houlihan