Cobh show resolve to come from behind and beat Finn Harps

Cobh Ramblers 3 

Finn Harps 1 

Cobh Ramblers manager Fran Rockett ‘could not be prouder’ of his squad after they came from behind to defeat Finn Harps 3-1 at St Colman’s Park on Friday night.

The home side trailed early on through a goal from Odhran McHugh and they responded with a Cian Coleman equaliser and a brace from Wilson Waweru after the break.

The Ramblers were made work for the three points against a struggling Harps side that were without a win in four games.

Cobh had to be patient, and it was their senior players that made sure of the comeback on home soil.

“It was a story that we kind of knew at the start of the week what we were going to be up against and we knew that there was going to be transitional moments that we had to deal with in the game and what they were going to throw at us,” Rockett said.

“But if you look at the quality and what we had at times. In the first half we didn't have many answers when they were in that low block, but in the second half we changed the angles and made sure that we weren't giving any straight line passes and we were making sure that we opened up the pitch and stretching their back line a little bit more by moving the ball quicker.

“The experienced players stepped up and there are no better men than, both Shane Griffins, Cian Coleman, Breandán Frahill and yeah, I couldn't be prouder of the boys.” 

Rockett does believe his team were in control, despite McHugh scoring in the 17th minute. It took time to unlock Harps, with a close range header from Coleman the moment that opened the game up.

“I thought from the start of the game all the way through to the end of the game, I thought from a performance perspective, we were in control of the game,” he explained.

“It was just the transitional in the moments in the first half. I don't know what it is, it's a bit of a mental block at times where we don't just clear the ball and clear our lines. 

"What we always say is make our pressure their pressure, beat their pressure in terms of clearing a ball and putting it back on top of them.

“From a structural point of view and a tactical point of view, we couldn't have been happier. 

"You know yourself when a team comes to sit in, it's going to be hard and that first goal is crucial. We said it to the boys during the week, the first goal in this game is going to be massive.” 

The second goal was the decisive one as Coleman’s header turned the game in Cobh’s favour.

It went 2-1 just 90-seconds later, with Wilson firing in from right in front of the posts. The striker got his second, from a quick free sent in by Shane T. Griffin in the 81st minute, and that was that.

Cobh Ramblers: Timothy Martin; Luka Le Bervet, Breandán Frahill, Cian Coleman, Shane Griffin; Oran Crowe (Rhys Kelly Noonan 85), Mikey Carroll; Rhys Brennan (Brian Lenihan 85), Shane T. Griffin, Claudio Osorio (Anthony Adenopo 61); Wilson Waweru (Kai O’Neill 89).

Subs: Anthony Adenopo for Osorio (61); Rhys Kelly Noonan for Crowe (85), Kai O’Neill for Waweru (89).

Finn Harps: Lorenzo Piai; Conor Tourish, Oran Brogan, Alex Fanle, Odhran McHugh; Joel Bradley Walsh, Darragh Coyle, Tony McNamee; Gavin McAteer, Aaron McLaughlin, Nathan Lumingo.

Subs: Temiloluwa Ajibola for McNamee (72); Bernardo Monteiro for Fanle (77), Conor McGranaghan for Coyle (86).

Referee: Mark Houlihan