Cobh Ramblers battle back from two down against Longford but miss penalty to snatch victory
Cobh Ramblers' Jonas Stjernberg takes a shot on goal against Longford Town at St Colman's Park. Picture: Adam Sheehan.
There were mixed emotions in the Cobh Ramblers dressing room after the club came back from 2-0 down to draw with Longford Town at St. Colman’s Park.
On one hand, the club were in a hole with little daylight after Dean Wiliams and Aaron Doran hit the back of the net.
The other side of that is the stunning strike from Dara McCormick and an own goal from Alex O’Brien making it 2-2 in the 69th minute.
Then came a missed penalty from Shane Griffin after Jordan Adeyemi went down inside the area, with Kian Moore stopping the midfielder from the spot.
Cobh manager Fran Rockett had a number of thoughts going through his head as he broke down the frantic 2-2 draw.
“There’s a feeling of disappointment after coming back from 2-0 down,” he said.
“We saw enough in the first half to know that we were going to cause them problems in the second half. That was one thing we were of the understanding of. But, we were disappointed, the turnaround and controlling the game the way we did.
“As far as I am concerned, the character and determination, everything you’d want from a team at this stage of the season, was there.
“I’m delighted for the fans, with the reception we got from the fans. There was an appreciation towards it. We’re at a time now where you’d take a point, especially when you are 2-0 down at halftime. But, we gained far more with how we performed in the second half. It was outstanding.”
The result keeps the club in fifth place, two points from Kerry FC, with games to come against UCD and Cork City.
They went for it against Longford, which lead to a fast pace encounter between the two play-off rivals. It began with Jonas Stjernberg hitting the post from close range and James Bailey stinging the palms of Timothy Martin at the Liam McMahon Stand.
Longford eventually took the lead in the 40th minute following a neat move where Doran played Williams through, and the midfielder fired in passed the Cobh goalkeeper.
A second followed in the 43rd minute. The creator turned scorer by picking up a Bailey pass and rifling the roof of the net at the near post.
It was 2-0 at the break and Cobh pulled one back in the 51st minute when Griffin set up McCormick for a stunning strike that went into the top corner.
The equaliser came from Rhys Gourdie hunting the ball down from a corner. The midfielder crossed in and O’Brien turned that in for an own goal at the back post.
The decisive moment in the tie was Griffin’s 87th-minute penalty and the resulting save by Moore.
Timothy Martin; Callum Honohan, Brendeán Frahill, Cian Coleman, Luka Le Bervet; Shane Griffin, Dara McCormick; Anthony Adenopo, Rhys Gourdie, Jordan Adeyemi, Jonas Stjernberg.
Ronan Mansfield for Frahill (76); Oran Crowe for McCormick (82), Lucas Curtin for Le Bervet (82), Rhys Kelly Noonan for Stjernberg (86).
Kian Moore; Taylor McCarthy, Cole Omorehiomwan, Jake Hough; Sultan Adenekan, Aaron Doran, Dean Williams, James Bailey, Alex O’Brien; Stefan Ugbesia, Andy Paraschiv.
Daniel McKenna for Ugbesia (75); Sean Moore for Adenekan (76), Kian Brunton for Bailey (84).
John Sconnie Walsh
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