- Aisling Hannon
- Fri, Feb 24 2023
Cobh Ramblers have now claimed two wins from two after a late Dale Holland goal saw them snatch a 2-1 victory over Wexford FC at St Colman’s Park on Friday night.
Wexford claimed three wins from four meetings between these two sides last season but had suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to Waterford in their opening fixture last week, so needed to be on guard.
It was former Wexford manager Shane Keegan’s side who pinched the early lead when Tiernan O’Brien slotted the ball into the net from close range on the ten-minute-mark.
Both teams had early chances in those opening minutes, but the home side took advantage when former Wexford midfielder Jack Doherty gained possession on the wing and played the ball in towards goal.
Luke Desmond had an attempt, but it was O’Brien who tapped it in as a bewildered Wexford defence looked on in despair.
The visitors were spurred on by the early setback and took just four minutes to level the scoreline.
Former Bohemians midfielder Conor Levingston played a brilliant ball into the box where both Aaron Dobbs and Aaron Robinson were waiting to head it past Lee Steacy, but it was Cobh’s Pierce Phillips who got the final touch and poked it into his own net.
Both teams showed good energy throughout the remainder of the first-half with Wilson Waweru having a couple of good runs towards goal, but Charlie Heffernan was strong between the sticks for Wexford.
The midfield trio of Doherty, Waweru and O’Brien clearly worked well together, showing class and intelligence when winning possession.
Wexford certainly looked steady themselves, but neither side could double their lead before the half-time whistle.
It was Doherty again who was causing havoc in the early stages of the second-half with his pace and skill on the ball, and one of his in swinging corner kicks brushed the crossbar to produce a slight scare for his former side.
The teams seemed to then slow the pace with Jordan Adeyemo getting closest for Wexford, taking a low brave shot with fifteen minutes to go but the connection wasn’t strong enough to unsettle Steacy.
James Keddy brought on 33-year-old Danny Furlong in an attempt to shake up the front line but the striker, who has scored ten goals against Cobh throughout his League of Ireland career and made his 244th league appearance tonight, was unable to find much possession of the ball.
With seven minutes remaining on the clock, the home side took the lead in controversial fashion.
Doherty whipped in a corner kick, meeting the head of Brendan Frahill before Holland nicked the secondary header and knocked the ball towards the goal.
It initially appeared as though Heffernan had saved it but the linesman communicated to referee Daniel Murphy that the ball had indeed crossed the line, gifting Cobh a precious advantage with minutes to spare.
Despite two late shots on target from Adeyemo, Wexford were unable to grasp anything further and remain without a point after two games this season.
The South East side will be hoping for better fortune next Friday when they host Athlone Town.
Cobh now sit third in the table with maximum points and will be confident heading to Longford next Saturday.
Cobh Ramblers: Lee Steacy; Jason Abbott, Brendan Frahill, Charlie Lyons, Pierce Phillips; Luke Desmond, Jack Doherty, Tiernan O'Brien (David Bosnjak 79), Wilson Waweru (Jake Hegarty 88); Cian Browne, Dale Holland (Callum Stringer 84).
Subs not used: Darragh Burke, Charlie O'Brien, Justin Eguaibor, Darragh O'Sullivan-Connell, Issa Kargbo, James O'Leary.
Booked: Dale Holland (35), Jack Doherty (81), Jason Abbott (89).
Wexford: Charlie Heffernan; Ethan Boyle, Karl Chambers (Reece Webb 86), Hugh Douglas, Aaron Robinson; Kian Corbally, James Crawford, Mark Hanratty (Danny Furlong 68), Conor Levingston; Jordan Adeyemo, Aaron Dobbs (Sean Fitzpatrick 82).
Subs not used: Colm Cox, Matthew Dunne, Ben Lynch, Darragh Levingston, Brandon McCann.
Booked: Jordan Adeyemo (41), James Crawford (45), Hugh Douglas (57), Karl Chambers (70), Danny Furlong (84).
Referee: Daniel Murphy
Attendance: 1,315
extratime.com Player of the Match: Jack Doherty (Cobh Ramblers)
