Cobh Ramblers move up to third after beating Kerry at St Colman's Park

Cobh Ramblers 2 Kerry 0 

Cobh Ramblers are up to third in the First Division following this victory at St Colman’s Park.

First-half goals from Rhys Gourdie and Wilson Waweru saw Fran Rockett's side make it three wins in a row going into the midseason break.

Having beaten Athlone Town and Treaty United, Cobh took the lead in the second minute. A neat through ball by Dylan McGlade was picked up by Gourdie who slotted home.

At the other end, former Cobh player Cian Bargary headed wide inside the area. The Ramblers responded with a curling Rhys Brennan effort that went just wide at the far post.

The restart was followed by a stoppage as Ryan Kelliher went down injured, a situation that led to the forward being replaced by Eric Kouife in the 16th minute. It took some time for the game to re-establish some rhythm, as Cobh struggled to turn possession into chances.

Then came a twisting run by Brennan and a shot at the near post on the half-hour mark. Matthew Connor parried the ball out for Waweru, who fired in from right in front of the posts to make it 2-0 to Cobh. It was his second goal in successive games, after getting the equaliser last time out against Treaty.

Ramblers pushed for a third before the break, with Luka Le Bervet kicking things off with a deep cross into the area that was picked up by the Kerry goalkeeper. McGlade also put an inviting ball in for Gourdie, and his effort was stopped with a diving save in the 36th minute.

Waweru had a right-legged shot that drew a routine save from Connor. Brendeán Frahill also tried his luck during this spell, only to fire the ball just over the bar before the whistle.

The first chance after the break went to Bargary, and the winger poked this just beyond at the far post within seconds of the restart.

The Kingdom continued to attack, with a header from a corner by Kouife going straight into the hands of Timothy Martin. This was during a prolonged period in possession by the visitors, who rarely threatened to turn into a full comeback mission given the steadfast nature of the Cobh defence.

The Kerry management team went to their bench in a bid to set up a big finish, bringing on Daniel Okwute, Cian Brosnan, and Ryan Perez. Cobh held firm in response, with Shane Griffin and Frahill working in tandem to stop the visitors playing through the middle.

The Kingdom’s attempts at playing wide came to nothing, as time ran out.

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

Subs: Shane T Griffin for Abbott (68); Rhys Kelly Noonan for Waweru (76), Mikey Carroll for Crowe (77).

KERRY: Matthew Connor; Sean O’Connell, Niall Brookwell, Killian Cantwell, Samuel Aladesanusi; Ewan Lee, Sean McGrath; Cian Bargary, Cian Murphy, Matthew Britton; Ryan Kelliher.

Subs: Eric Kouife for Kelliher (16); Daniel Okwute for Britton (60), Cian Brosnan for Cantwell (60), Ryan Perez for Bargary (73).

Referee: Ryan Maher