FAI Cup Preview: St Patrick's Athletic -v- Cobh Ramblers

ST PATRICK’S ATHLETIC

St Patrick’s Athletic welcome Cobh Ramblers to Richmond Park on Saturday afternoon in the quarter-final of the FAI Cup.

The Saints have been very impressive in this competition so far. First, they pummelled Pike Rovers 8-0 before handing First Division champions Limerick their first defeat in all competition this season (not including the Munster Senior Cup) when they defeated them two nil.

In contrast, the Saints league form as of late has been poor and they have failed to win in their three games since the Limerick cup win with defeats to Bohemians and Bray Wanderers being separated by a stalemate with Shamrock Rovers.

However, Liam Buckley will be hoping for a sturdy performance against Ramblers which will be enough to see them through to the semi-final stage.

“Cobh will be coming up to Richmond on Saturday looking for a result, and with Stephen Henderson in charge of them, we know they will be well prepared,” Liam Buckley told stpatsfc.com when looking ahead to the game.

“The FAI Cup is all about performing on the day, so form goes out the window. It’s a big game for us and we’ll be doing everything to progress to the next round of the competition.” 

For Saints’ defender Michael Barker, the game presents itself an opportunity to reach the Semi-Finals of the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup for a second year in a row, the 23 year old having been a part of a Bray Wanderers squad who were narrowly beaten by Cork City last year. 

“Last year was a disappointing one personally as all of us on that Bray team thought we could get to the final. We were underdogs heading into the game but on the day, it was anyone’s game and we could have got the win if we’d got a bit of luck. It’s experiences like that though that drive you on the next year in the Cup.” Barker told stpatsfc.com. 

“Cobh are being talked about as underdogs this Saturday, but we know they are a good side and will fancy themselves to pull off an FAI Cup giant-killing win. From our point of view though, we’re approaching the game like we would any other. We’ll be going to play our game and hopefully that will lead to a win. If we play to the levels we know we’re capable of, we feel we can beat anyone on our day and if we do that, fingers crossed that gets us into the next round.” 

In team news, Pat’s remain without the services of David Cawley (Collarbone), while Darren Dennehy (ankle), Shane McEleney (illness) and Conor O’Malley (thigh strain) are all doubts. The Saints however are boosted by Sean Hoare’s return from Republic of Ireland U21 duty as well as Jack Bayly’s return to training. 

COBH RAMBLERS

Cobh Ramblers will be eagerly anticipating this clash as it is certainly their biggest game of the season and is a fantastic opportunity to reach the final four stage for the first time since 1983 where they reached the semi-finals as an amateur club.

In this year’s competition they began with a 2-1 victory over Leinster Senior League side Cherry Orchard before defeating fellow Cork side Ringmahon Rangers 4-1 in the last-16.

The First Division side have had a decent 2016 season and currently sit one place outside the play-off positions, six points behind UCD. While a play-off place may prove a little too much to achieve especially going into the latter stages of the season, Cobh can still be happy with their performances and now have a fantastic chance to make the year more than memorable if they do manage to dispatch the Saints.

Referee: Sean Grant

MATCH STATS

Cobh Ramblers will be St Pats third consecutive game against Munster opposition in the competition this year after Limerick and Limerick club Pike Rovers.

The Saints have three FAI Cups to their name having won in 1958/59, 1960/61 and 2014 while Cobh have never gone beyond the semi-final stage.

Cobh reached the 1983 semi-finals while they were still a Munster Senior League side. They were eventually knocked out 3-2 by Sligo Rovers after three replays.

BETTING

St Patrick’s Athletic 3/10; Draw7/2; Cobh Ramblers 9/1.

PREDICTION

St Pat’s 3-0 Cobh Ramblers

St Patrick’s Athletic

Injured: David Cawley

Doubtful: Darren Dennehy, Shane McEleney, Conor O’Malley

Suspended: None.

Cobh Ramblers

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.