Early goal not enough for Cobh Ramblers to pull off an FAI Cup upset in Waterford

Waterford 2 Cobh Ramblers 1 

Cobh Ramblers gave it their all but it wasn’t enough to stay in the Club Orange Men’s FAI Cup as the club were downed by Waterford at the RSC.

Fran Rockett’s side enjoyed a perfect start with new signing Jordan Adeyemi scoring early on, and their hopes of causing an upset ended with second-half goals from Evan McLaughlin and Padraig Amond.

The Ramblers will now return to league action, with a clear focus on the playoffs with the club in fifth place as July turns to August.

A Waterford result would have been a bonus, as the club went into this edition of the FAI Cup aiming for their first adventure in the competition since their run to the quarter finals in 2016.

That dream manifested in a fast start that involved almost everyone in claret and blue. Rhys Gourdie played the key pass to Luka Le Bervet on the left wing, and the full-back set up Adeyemi for a stunning strike went beyond the reach of Arlo Doherty in just the third minute.

The Ramblers held firm at the other end, as Waterford went wide with Jorgen Voilas leading the charge down the right flank.

The Blues also tried going on, leading to an effort from Conan Noonan at the back post in the 11th minute that was neatly dealt with by the Cobh defence.

It was so far so good by the half-hour mark, and Rockett’s side remained in front at the break despite Waterford’s control over possession.

The Blues continued to dominate after the restart, in a quest to equalise that included Amond knocking a Conan Noonan corner wide in the 55th minute.

The moment that changed the game was on the hour mark, when Waterford made a triple substitution that saw McLaughlin, Benny Couto, and Dean McMenamy replace Jesse Dempsey, Luke Heeney, and Trae Coyle.

This immediately injected a fresh pair of legs and perspective, in addition to Premier Division experience given McLaughlin and Couto’s recent involvement with Cork City.

Their relationship showed within their first touches, as it led to a blistering shot from the left wing that forced Timothy Martin into a stretched save that pushed the ball out for a corner that came to nothing.

McLaughlin then tried his luck, only to draw another excellent stop from the Cobh goalkeeper.

The Blues kept probing, and eventually the equaliser came when a Jordan Houston was only partially cleared by Breandán Frahill. McLaughlin immediately got in to get the ball and hit the roof of the net with a blistering strike that Martin had no chance of getting to in the 78th minute.

Waterford upped the pressure during the time that was left to play, determined not to have the game decided in extra-time.

This led to a number of chances in the final third as the club chased the winner. It eventually came from a Couto free-kick that was knocked on by Hayden Cann for Amond.

The striker made no mistake with the clock in the red, and Cobh Ramblers exited the FAI Cup.

WATERFORD: Arlo Doherty; Jordan Houston, Hayden Cann, John Mahon, Jesse Dempsey; Jorgen Voilas, Will Johnson, Luke Heeney, Trae Coyle, Conan Noonan, Padraig Amond.

Subs: Benny Couto for Dempsey (61); Dean McMenamy for Heeney (61), Evan McLaughlin for Coyle (61).

Cobh Ramblers: Timothy Martin; Brian Lenihan, Breandán Frahill, Shane Griffin, Luka Le Bervet; Rhys Gourdie, Mikey Carroll; Rhys Kelly Noonan, Shane T. Griffin, Jordan Adeyemi, Kai O’Neill.

Subs: Dara McCormick for Carroll (88); Ciaran Galvin for Linehan (90), Ethan O’Donovan for O’Neill (90).

Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan