Cobh Ramblers will 'fear no one' as they chase play-off place

Cobh Ramblers manager Fran Rockett believes his side should 'fear no one' as they get ready to take on UCD this evening at St Colman’s Park, 7.45pm.

The club go into this game fifth in the table, with Kerry two points behind and Athlone four with seven left to play.

Their goal is another win as they look to secure a play-off spot for a third time in four seasons.

The stakes surrounding the UCD encounter are heightened by next week’s trip to the Munster FA Turner’s Cross Stadium to face a Cork City side that might need a point to secure the league title.

Cobh can actually win the First Division for their local rivals with a win or draw, even if the champions elect fall to Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds.

The Ramblers are only focusing on themselves rather than the wider play-off picture. Rockett simply wants his side to simply show no fear, as they get ready for a season-defining few weeks.

“It’s about fearing no one now,” he said.

“It’s all about us and making sure we prepare right and recover properly. We’re back in on Sunday mornings, Mondays, and Tuesdays. We’ll be ready to go [for UCD]. I already see an upgrade on mindsets and intensity. I think we’re starting to go.

“We’re disappointed with the goals we gave away against Longford Town. There was a lot of chances, our final third entries have gone up. 

Our averages for shots on goal have gone up tenfold.

“We’re in a really good place. Our squad is getting stronger and we nearly have a clean bill of health so we have no one to fear. That is the most important thing. Down here is a tough place to come. We’re after making it a tough place to come.

“We’re looking forward to UCD but we fear nobody. We’re taking it one game at a time. We got to back ourselves now.” 

Testing

The coach’s words come before a meeting with a team that have a perfect record against Cobh this year – three wins from three including a come-from-behind victory last May at St Colman’s Park.

The Students will make the journey to the Great Island sitting in second place, on the back of a madcap 5-4 victory over Finn Harps in Belfield. The Students trailed 2-1 at the break, and responded with goals from Luca Cailloce and a Louis Dignam brace that put them in front at 4-3. Then Max Hutchinson got in to score and UCD needed an 89th goal from Hugh Smith to take the three points.

It was a chaotic encounter, one endemic of a side struggling for consistent form in recent weeks.

The Students have been winning games, they recently got the better of Wexford and Cork City in Belfield. They were also beaten by Treaty United and held to draws by Kerry and Athlone Town, with Derry City ending their FAI Cup campaign in August.

UCD remain one of the most dangerous teams in the division. Ciaran Behan is the fourth top scorer with 11 tallied this season and Smith has registered nine, with Dignam tallying eight. Michael McCullagh is also the best creator in the league, with eight assists racked up so far. Behan and Dignam have five and four, a further illustration of a team that can put together chances and take them.

Cobh will prepare with a clean bill of health, according to Rockett. This is a huge positive after a start to the season blighted by injuries in key positions, with the defence often shuffled to cover missing names.

There seems to be a settled unit now, in their tried and tested 4-2-3-1 formation with Jonas Stjernberg as the focal point of the attack. Rhys Gourdie is the engine that holds everything together, with Jordan Adeyemi and Anthony Adenopo doing the running on the wings.

The defence is almost home grown with Brian Lenihan, Brendeán Frahill, Lucas Curtin, and Luka Le Bervet all graduates of the Cobh academy.

This is a huge thing for any manager in any league in any sport, and its clicking for Cobh at exactly the right time.