2 v 0 
ShelbourneDetails
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 October 2021 | 7:45 pm | LOI Men's First Division | 2021 |
Match Report
Cobh beat youthful Shels
Cobh Ramblers continued their fine late season form with a solid 2-0 victory over a youthful Shelbourne side in their last home game of the 2021 SSE Airtricity League First Division season.
First half goals from David O'Leary and Danny O'Connell were enough to ensure the hosts would secure their second win in a row.
Shelbourne fielded a changed side with goalkeeper Jack Brady and Gavin Molloy making their first starts of the season.
Despite the inexperience the Champions did start the stronger of the two sides cutting the Cobh defence open to create a few chances with an early opportunistic effort from Ryan Brennan forcing a scrambling Sean Barron into a diving save as he backtracked to his own goal.
Ramblers took the initiative on 21 minutes when they forced a corner and David O'Leary's inswinger caused consternation in a crowded penalty box.
Keeper Jack Brady was caught in no man's land as the ball deflected off a Shelbourne player and ended up in the back of the net.
Things got even better for the home side when a long ball from Jake Hegarty fell to Danny O'Connell who's volley found the bottom corner to put Ramblers two goals ahead.
Ian Morris's side weren't able to gather a sufficient response although Maxim Kouogan did come close with a header from a corner just before half time.
Cobh grew in confidence as the second half went on and had two quick penalty shoots when the ball appeared to strike a Shelbourne player's arm twice in the one attack but Jake Hegarty's effort was blocked by a lunging Shels defender.
As both managers emptied their benches the game lost most of its flow. Brian McManus almost made a breakthrough for the Dublin side but a late deflection took the ball away from goal and out for a corner.
A second win in a row for Cobh will give Darren Murphy some confidence going into next season as he celebrates his own two year appointment to the manager's seat in St. Colman's Park.
Morris won't lose too much sleep over his team's defeat but the real lesson learned will be that the champions squad probably isn't deep enough for survival in the Premier Division next season and there will be a requirement to reinforce the side ahead of their promotion to the Premier Division.
Timeline
Past Meetings
|
(Series 17)
2 - 2LOI Men's First Division
Tolka Park Shelbourne v Cobh Ramblers |
|
(Series 8)
1 - 2LOI Men's First Division
St. Colman's Park Cobh Ramblers v Shelbourne |
5 - 7eLOI Group D
Online Event Cobh Ramblers v Shelbourne |
Ground
| St. Colman's Park |
|---|
| Saint Colman\'s Park, Norwood Park, Cobh Urban, Cobh Municipal District, County Cork, Munster, P24 F252, Ireland |
Final Whistle
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A poor cross deep into injury time which goes well over Barron's crossbar sums up Shels performance this evening as Cobh as the final whistle reverberates around St. Colman's Park. The champions may have had 100 fans on the road this evening making lots of noise. They'll be disappointed with the performance this evening but the league champions won't be too upset as they will face the 2022 season in the top tier.
Final change for Cobh Ramblers with Killian Cooper entering the action to replace Danny O'Connell.
Jake Hegarty and Stephen O'Leary are replaced by Conor Drinan and Luke Kennedy for Cobh Ramblers.
Michael O'Connor and Alex Nolan join the fray for Mahdy & Ledwidge. Cobh also make a change with Phillips replacing James McCarthy.
Shelbourne beginning to create a little more as the urgency levels are rising for Ian Morris\'s side. Brian McManus sees his effort deflected out for a corner for the Reds.
Brady once again looking all at sea for a David O'Leary. O'Riordan rose highest but couldn't keep it down and his header goes powerfully over the bar.
Ryan Brennan has the ball in the back of the net with a smart back heel, but the assistant referee's flag rules it out for offside.
Double substitution for Shelbourne: Eric Molloy & George Poynton replace Stanley Anaebonam & Gavin Molloy for the champions as Ian Morris tries to claw their way back into the game.
Another good opportunity for Cobh to increase their lead but the Shels defence manage to block the effort from Jake Hegarty. Cobh have been impressive but Shelbourne really haven't looked interested in this game at all.
Two penalty shouts from Cobh Ramblers as the ball appears to hit an arm twice in quick succession for goalbound efforts before Ben O'Riordan saw his header effort go wide from ridiculously close to the Shels goal.
Gavin Molloy has an ambitious effort from 35 yards for Shels but can't trouble Barron in the Cobh goal.
The teams are coming back onto the pitch for the second period. Have an inexperienced Shels side got a response to their surprising two goal deficit?
Half Time in St. Colman's Park and the champions trail 2-0 to their hosts.
A Cobh player is getting a bit of attention as the two sides await the half time whistle. Darren Murphy will be the happier of the two bosses going into the dressing room as his side lead the champions 2-0 at the interval.
Shels have their best chance of the game from a corner but Maxim Kouogan can't get his header on target as the ball goes harmlessly wide of the post.
Michael Barker wins a free on the edge of the Cobh box for Shels. Dayle Rooney steps up but can't beat the wall as Cobh scramble to clear a number of opportunities for the away side.
Wild high challenge from Cobh's Danny O'Connell sees a free kick awarded to Shels in their own half. The forward is lucky not to see at least a yellow card from the match referee.
A great run from Shel's full back Molloy on the right for Shels is well dealt with by O'Riordan and O'Leary for Ramblers.
A David O\'Leary corner has the reds in all sorts of trouble. Jack Brady didn\'t look to be too comfortable under the cross and a Shels defender got the final touch past Brady who looked shell shocked after the score. O'Leary awarded the goal though.
Ramblers putting a bit of pressure on the Shelbourne defence but they can't just force their way through the red wall in front of them.
A great run and cross from Lee Devitt creates chaos in the Shels defence as Cobh are unlucky not to have opened the scoring. Brady coming to the rescue for the champions.
It's been constant pressure from Shels as they have Ramblers boxed into their half for most of the opening stages.
Jack Brady gets his first touch of the season with a good catch from a cross from winger Stephen O'Leary.
Ryan Brennan spotted Sean Barron off his line and tried a speculative effort from the sideline but Barron scrambled back to knock it out for a corner. Barron claimed the resulting crossed ball.
And the game is underway. Cobh Ramblers will be looking to build a bit of confidence into their off season as they host a youthful Shels side for their last home game of the season.
The SSE Airtricity League First Division Champions are greeted by a guard of honour from their hosts at St. Colman's Park as they take the field. Just a few minutes to kick off in Cobh.
We'll have text updates from the game right here just before kickoff at 7:45pm.
Cobh are unchanged from their win over Cabinteely last weekend for their final home league game of the season this evening.
The teams are in at St. Colman's Park as Shelbourne name a number of changes to their starting team. Jack Brady makes his first appearance between the sticks for Shels while Gavin Molloy makes his first start for the Reds.