Cobh Ramblers will have to do without their first choice centre half pairing as they make one of the longest trips in Irish football to Finn Park tonight. (Kick-off 8:00pm)

A win for Ramblers would move them to within two points of third bottom Harps but they’ll be without the injured Brendan Frahill and Brian Fitzgerald, who misses out due to work commitments, with Gary Collins and John Meade expected to deputise in the centre of defence.

Ramblers manager Dave Hill made five signings at the beginning of the week but they will also be unavailable.

Hill explained: “None of the new signings have been registered in time, you have to get a form sent off to the FAI and then the players who were being paid by their previous club have to get a tax clearance certificate and that takes about a week.

“We experienced that with Davin O’Neill at the start of the season so it’s tricky but we’ll have to get by without them tonight.”

Despite the lengthy list of absentees, Hill is sure his side can continue where they left off against Wexford Youths at St. Colman’s Park last weekend when they cruised to an impressive 3-0 win.

He said: “I play every game going for the win, if you go up there looking for a draw you’re putting the mentality into the players and the team that is not a winning mentality and you want all the players to have a winning mentality every time, there’s no point going out for second best.”

“We’re not fearful of any team, the only thing is getting a run together, there are a lot of points to play for and there’s a long way to go, we’re only half-way through the season so we’re very optimistic especially with the players that are coming in as well.”

In contrast to Cobh, Finn Harps have a near full strength squad to choose from, although they are in the middle of a poor run of form that has seen them lose four of their last five league games.

Preview: Sean Geary