Cobh Ramblers hoping to snap losing streak against Bray Wanderers at home 

Cobh Ramblers will aim to snap their four match winless run when they welcome Bray Wanderers to St. Colman's Park this evening, kick-off 7:45pm.

The club will go into this game in fifth place in the table, and reeling from last weekend’s defeat to Waterford in the Club Orange Men’s FAI Cup at the RSC.

It hasn’t been an easy few weeks for Fran Rockett and his players, and Bray will be another challenge as they currently sit in second place with 37 points collected and just six losses incurred all year.

The Seagulls will also bring form with them to the Great Island as Paul Heffernan’s side are unbeaten in three, which includes a victory over Finn Harps in the FAI Cup last week in Donegal.

What makes things even more precarious for Cobh is that their position in the play-offs is now under threat as they are level on points with Longford Town and just three away from Wexford.

Even Athlone Town and Kerry could sneak into the top five over the coming weeks, something that is within the realm of possibility as everyone is capable of getting results in the First Division.

Cobh can only focus on themselves, and that means maximising home comforts as the nights get shorter and summer turns to autumn. 

St Colman’s Park is almost their biggest asset this season, and their record backs that up as it shows just three losses on the Great Island this term - to Wexford, Cork City, and UCD.

The Ramblers can find form when their backs are to the wall, that was on show when the club played Waterford last week in the FAI Cup at the RSC.

The Blues were listed as heavy favourites, and any form of expectation was undone when new Cobh signing Jordan Adeyemi scored from outside the box in just the third minute after picking up a pass from Luka Le Bervet.

Waterford were aggressive as they looked to respond, but they struggled to break down the Cobh backline that included Breandán Frahill and Shane Griffin.

A triple substitution on the hour mark changed the game, with Evan McLaughlin marking his introduction by scoring the equaliser in the 78th minute. 

Padraig Amond got the winner in extra-time, to send Waterford through to the third round and force Cobh into a bus trip home filled with questions of what could have been.

The cup result was preceded by a three match losing streak that saw the team drop points to UCD, Cork City, and Athlone Town in a three week sequence.

The Athlone Town result stung the most as the club went into the game without a win in 10 and reeling from the departure of Ian Ryan as manager.

This galvanised the team into giving one of their best performances of the season, and their reward was a ninth minute goal from a Cillian Tollett header.

Their second came from a Peter Grogan header after a mistake by Timothy Martin inside the area parried a shot by Patrick Ferry into the forward’s path.

The Ramblers had no response, something that cannot be attributed to lack of effort. That was the same problem in Waterford, with the common denominator between those two results the lack of squad depth.

It’s secret the team are down numbers after the departures of Jason Abbott, Gary Buckley, Claudio Osario, and Rhys Brennan. 

They are also dealing with injuries to Dylan McGlade and Cian Coleman, with the latter not featuring for the club since the derby defeat to Cork City at the beginning of July.

Cobh have made steps to make up for those lost by bringing in Ronan Mansfield on loan from Waterford and permanently signing Dara McCormick and Adeyemi in recent weeks.

Martin has also agreed a new contract that will keep him on the Great Island until the end of the 2027 season, a sign of long term investment with the play-offs in touching distance.

A greater sense of depth is needed, that goes beyond young players looking to take their first steps into first team football.

There’s still time to strengthen and secure their place in the play-offs.