Tuesday night will see two of Cork’s most historic sides face off at Turners Cross as, Cobh Ramblers and Rockmount meet in the prestigious Munster Senior Cup final.
There is no easy route to a final but both these sides have had tough encounters on their way here and there have been some impressive performances along the road. Ramblers entered the competition at the quarter-final stage where they were drawn away to College Corinthians. With the teams deadlocked after extra-time, penalties awaited, and Jason Abbott, Rob Lehane and Graham McCarthy all converted to send Cobh into the semi-final. Fellow League of Ireland side Limerick were the opposition and a solitary goal from Swedish striker Markus Gustavsson was enough to see Stephen Henderson’s men into the final.
Rockmount’s journey in the tournament began with a 3-1 victory at home to Riverstown in the second round, followed by a thrilling 4-3 win at Avondale United. The last eight draw saw them travel to John Caulfield’s Cork City. An early lead thanks to John Hayes was wiped out by City’s Mark O’Sullivan and with no more goals in the tie, penalties arrived, with the Whitechurch side winning it 4-3. It was an all-Munster Senior League clash at the semi-final stage where a 2-1 win over Ringmahon put ‘the Mount’ into the decider.
Neither side have a great record when it comes to finals in this competition. The Rams have reached the decider on no less than thirteen occasions (1925, 35, 37, 44, 66, 83, 84, 85, 88, 94, 2000, 06, 08), but have only won three (1925, 44, 83). Rockmount have been in three finals (1998, 2002, 09) but are yet to lift the famous trophy. Incidentally, Stephen Henderson was manager of the Waterford United side that defeated Rockmount in 2009, a Blues side captained by Cobh native Michael Devine.
Timing plays a key role in football and Cobh are coming into the tie on the back of a positive spell. Away wins at Waterford and Cabinteely were followed by a draw at home to Athlone and Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Shelbourne. Sitting in second place in the League of Ireland First Division, they are in fine form at present and their fast style of play should suit the surface. Rockmount are fresh from winning silverware at ‘The Cross’, defeating St Mary’s 4-2 on penalties in last Tuesday’s Donie Forde Final. They are currently third in the Munster Senior League Premier Division, eight points off leaders UCC following Friday night’s 1-0 win at home to Carrigaline.
On the injury front, Ramblers remain without a host of injured defenders. Kevin Mulcahy, James Furlong, Adam O’Sullivan and Anthony O’Donnell look set to continue their spell on the sidelines while goalkeeper Eoghan Daly remains a doubt. Rob Lehane has really come into the side of late and will be a player to watch for Cobh on the night. Cian Kingston and Shane O’Connor have also impressed in recent weeks and stand-in captain O’Connor will be keen to end the night lifting a trophy. As for Rockmount, Jamie Murphy should return for Billy Cronin’s side having missed the Donie Forde final. The experience of Brendan O’Connell and Ken Hoey amongst others will be crucial for the MSL outfit if they are to claim another League of Ireland scalp.
A number of players look set to face their former clubs on the night. James Carson and Danny Aherne both had spells at St Colman’s Park at u19 and senior level and while currently injured, Cobh’s Jonathan Creamer originally joined the club from Rockmount in 2013. It should add just another bit of spice to what is set up to be an entertaining tie. When you add in the fact that these are Roy Keane’s two former Cork clubs, it sets everything up nicely for Tuesday’s clash.
Kick-off on Tuesday night is 19:30 at Turners Cross.
