A late goal from James Carson gave Ramblers a share of the spoils in Rovers’ reserves first ever game. An early Daniel Purdy strike put the Dubliners ahead but they couldn’t hold on and Cobh deservedly equalised on 89 minutes.
Ramblers were missing a number of key players. Martin Deady and Brendán Frahill were both suspended. Mikey O’Shea, Andrew Bhandarkar and Ronan Stanton were also unavailable. This meant it was a very young Cobh side out which included 17 year old Chris McCarthy in midfield, making his senior debut. There was also a first Rams appearance for veteran centre back Damian O’Rourke who partnered captain Craig Burns in defence.
It wasn’t the brightest of starts for either sides. Emeka Onwubiko was a constant threat to the Cobh defence and he went closest early on but failed to hit the target from close range. Rovers took the lead after 19 minutes. The ball fell to Daniel Purdy on the left hand side, just outside the area and he rifled a spectacular effort into the back of the net. There was little action after that in the first half. Alan O’Flynn and Rob Waters had half chances for the Rams but it was Rovers who went in 1-0 up at the break after a relatively poor 45 minutes.
Chris Lyons looked impressive for the away side in the second half but the Cobh defence stood strong. Substitutions came in the form of young midfielders Keith O’Flynn and Ryan Goldsmith for Cobh and Stephen Confrey for Rovers. Early in the half, James Carson put a threatening ball into the penalty area but no-one could tap it home. In ended up with Anthony O’Donnell outside the box but his low effort went narrowly wide. Keith O’Flynn almost equalised from close range but his speculative volley was well saved by Conor O’Malley in the Rovers goal. It was all square on 89 minutes. Bobbi Donoghue found Carson in the box. He took his time before beating O’Malley to score his first senior goal for the Rams. That was the last chance of note and it ended in a deserved 1-1 draw.
It was not one of the most entertaining games you’ll see at St Colman’s Park but both sides will be happy to get a point on the board. After all the pre-season work the players will be happy to have finally started the season and they’ll want to push on from here. Next up for the Rams is an away trip to Wexford Youths this Friday while Shamrock Rovers host Finn Harps next Sunday.
Cobh Ramblers: Shane Hallahan, Eoin Hastings, Craig Burns (C), Damian O’Rourke, Anthony O’Donnell, Chris McCarthy (Ryan Goldsmith 60), Roy Kenny, Rob Waters, Bobbi Donoghue, James Carson, Alan O’Flynn (Keith O’Flynn 53)
Shamrock Rovers: Conor O’Malley, Nathan Brown, Alan Kehoe (Evan Osam 90), Sean Heaney, Corie Treacey (C), Ryan Coombes, Daniel Purdy, Ryan Doolin, Chris Lyons, Emeka Onwubiko (Stephen Confrey 81), Kevin Knight
Report by Thomas Stafford
