Welcome back to Cobh after a crazy April 2022. Seven league games, W4, D2, L1. 14 points and 8 points clear in 6th at the turn of the month. Can we maintain this form?
Derry & Shamrock Rovers will be free hits, Shelbourne & Galway are key matches this season (Along with Sligo & Waterford) – not losing in those games will keep us up I think.
Paul O’Neill 3rd in the Premier Division Player of the Month!!!
2nd in Manager of the Month. More manager points 🙂
A ‘B’ – Concerned about losing to Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers. Fuck off game! If FM21 is going to be a bit late I hope they spend the time fixing this.
The Dynamics are progressing very nicely indeed.
Waterford possibly turning things around – Good for us as well as that keeps Shelbourne 8 points behind and we have a game in hand as we approach the halfway point of the season.
Josh & Dave in the Premier Division Team of the Week.
Derry have just played and lost to Shamrock Rovers in the League Cup (Tuesday 3rd) – we play them in the League on Friday so hopefully we will be up against some tired lads.
6th May 2022 – Derry City (A) – Irish Premier Division
We make the long trip (almost) the length of the Island to play a Derry City side currently sitting 3rd, 5 points above us. We are missing Kane Lewis (Suspended), Charlie Fleming (Hernia) and Dara Costelloe (Abdominal Strain) so I’m not expecting much, if anything. Sneaking a point would be massive. With the team dynamics as they are its a definite possibility.
A few issues with our missing right-backs, so Jack Lynch comes in for his first 1st-team game since 2020. Otherwise we are pretty strong – can’t wait to get Costelloe back though. Derry start with a 4-4-2 – McGarvey is playing well for them up top so will be their biggest threat.
FT Derry City 3 (McCauley 13, Doyle 45+3, O’Hanlon 66) Cobh Ramblers 0 Att 1,213 (18 Away)
We start this evening in our light blue away kit, Derry in their Sunderland/Southampton Red and White Stripes. It’s tipping it down in Norn Iron. And it’s a quick start from Cobh, Graydon heading over in the first minute. Noticed McGarvey is on 73% condition after 8 minutes… But set pieces strike again, Derry’s first highlight and its 1-0. A free kick finds, McCauley, who side-foot volleys home from 6 yards. Poor marking. Cobh very much on top by the stats as it comes up to the half hour. Injury time, 2-0 Derry – another fucking free kick, a header somehow finds Doyle on his own at the near post to tap-in from 3 yards at a tight angle. 2-0 at Half Time, 3 greens on the 1st half review……… Last sub in the 79th, Taylor for Kehoe. Full Time 3-0 – WTF was that?
Not a single highlight up to the 60th minute – Mihoubi for Graydon, swapping sides with Melody. Curran on for O’Neill as a Poacher. 3-0 in the 66th, this time a corner….. Josh O’Hanlon, 1st of the season (Just like Doyle) – So it’s like this, is it game???????? Full Time 3-0.
Seriously, 3 highlights for Derry, all set pieces, 3 goals. Lots of Defending Set Piece Training to come.
Our U19’s beat Shamrock Rovers U19’s 1-0, Mike Hourihane with the goal.
Galway lose one of their games in hand to stay 10 points behind us.
OK, we’re favourites for a match for the first time in the league this season!!!!!
Interesting to see we are joint 4th for numbers of homegrown players with 16.
13th May 2022 – Shelbourne (H) – Irish Premier Division
We welcome Shelbourne to St. Colman’s Park knowing a win for us will put us 11 points clear of them, a loss lets them get back to within 5 points. I would love to keep a nice safety buffer to make the 2nd half of the season less fraught.
Hughes out due to Yellows (8 now in 16 games…) so Meade comes in at Centre Back, Collins moving to the left side of the back 2. Lewis back available at Right Back after suspension. Melody & Graydon swap wings. Shelbourne start with the mirror formation – 4-2-3-1 Wide. Man for Man.
FT Cobh Ramblers 1 (Melody 3) Shelbourne 1 (E Brennan 27) Att 358 (61 Away)
A great start from the Cobh lads, 1-0 inside 3 minutes, a bit of midfield ping-pong resulted in Porter getting the ball in space. He passed short to O’Neill, with back to goal, who laid off to Graydon cutting inside. Graydon whipped a lovely ball over to Conor Melody, who took a touch and thundered a shot past McCabe. Shelbourne are pushed up amazingly high. And then bugger, 12th minute, Melody bruises his knee… he was looking so sharp as well. Mihoubi on, withdrawn a bit. And the set pieces strike a -fucking-gain, Mylod parrying a direct free kick, Eoghan Brennan scoring the rebound…. 1-1. And that’s how the half finished.
A quiet enough start to the 2nd half, a chance for each side. 70 gone, Phillips for Hurley. Shelbourne pushing up, leaving gaps in the last 10. Both centre backs are knackered so O’Riordan on for Collins with 5 left. Injury time.Time for a sting in the tail? No. 1-1, we’re a Costelloe away from winning today I think.
Great to see Galway & Sligo both losing – 8 points clear of 8th still, 11 clear of Galway in 9th. Dundalk starting to move off into the distance a bit.
CONOR MELODY – BRUISED KNEE – 2-3 DAYS. Not too bad – if he’d have stayed on the pitch I think we would have won that.
Our U19’s beat Mullingar Athletic in a friendly 2-1 – both goals from Enda Curran.
NEW SIGNING (25th June)
Scott Allardice
- 24yo DM (Also DC and MC)
- Scottish
- 5ft 10in
- Joining on a free after leaving Bohemians after starting his career at Dundee Utd
- IRL at Waterford
Scott Allardice will join us late next month, £275/week until the end of the 2024 season. A swiss-army-knife up the spine of the team from DC to MC I see him playing as the DM, allowing Bosun Lawal to move further up into Midfield with Eoin Porter – that then becomes a very strong central diamond. 4* CA, he will be our best owned player by CA. He stays on trial until he joins so will get a nice lead-in through playing in friendlies. A really nice signing for the 2nd-half of the season.
The best possible results for us – both Galway and Sligo losing their games in hand, meaning we are still 11 points clear of the relegation zone, with Galway up next on Friday (4 days). We could be 14 points clear of the relegation spots at half-way through the season, which would be immense.
Eoin Porter in the Irish Premier Division Team of the Week.
JOSH COLLINS – TIGHT HAMSTRING – 1-2 Days – Will most probs not risk him for the Galway game.
20th May 2022 – Galway Utd (H) – Irish Premier Division
We welcome a Galway side that we’ve not beaten in 8 matches between us (D3 L5) but are on a terrible run, D2 L6 in the last 8, including losing the last 4 league games in a row. Can we make it 5? And a win would put us on 25 points after half a season – 32 would have been 8th place in the last 3 seasons…
Costelloe is back on the bench, might give him the last 20 as I nurse him back into the team. Hughes back as the left-sided centre back after his 1-game ban for yellows. Collins is being rested after his hamstring pull. Galway go with a 4-4-1-1.
FT Cobh Ramblers 1 (Melody 42) Galway Utd 0 Att 379 (90 Away)
A long first highlight results in a tame Cobh shot. Otherwise its very even. Nothing until the 38th minute, when Paul O’Neill gets himself sent off for a 2-footed lunge in the Galway area. FFS. However we take the lead in the 42nd minute. Porter now as a Shadow Striker so we are 4-2-3-0. Lawal ends up with the ball and send as floated cross field ball into Melody’s path, and he absolutely leathers it through Horgan in the Galway net. 1-0 Cobh! TBH honest we look better since the sending off. 1-0 at Half Time.
Galway starting the half strongly. But we should have been 2-0 up in the 49th, Graydon not pulling the trigger when he was clean in on goal. Horgan keeping Galway in this at the moment. Graydon coming off, Costelloe is getting 30. 69 gone, O’Riordan from a tired Meade. Last 15, Curran for Porter. Slowing the game down – Galway have a player on 47% with all 3 subs done… And we going into Injury time. And we’ve done it, a 1-0 win after being down to 10 men for 52 minutes. A superb result!
Half-way through the season, 25 points is much more than I could have hoped for at the start of the season. 6 points clear of Waterford in 7th, 10 clear of Shelbourne in 8th, 14 clear of the relegation spots as Sligo shock Cork 1-0.
Our U19’s beat Bray U19 2-0, goals from Mike Hourihane and Patrick Walker. Noticed I have 6 2* CA U19’s 🙂
A poor week for left backs, Alan Kehoe makes the Irish Premier Division Team of the Week with a 6.9 🙂 Conor Melody also in there after his thunderbastard.
Our U19’s beat Rockmount 4-2, goals from winger Mike Meade and a hat-trick from Ryan Graydon (Who couldn’t hit a barn door in the Galway match – he’s banned for Shamrock Rovers so got an U19 game here)
27th May 2022 – Shamrock Rovers (H) – Irish Premier Division
I would say this is a bit of a free-hit this evening but Shamrock are only 5 points above us. Plus the bookies are now showing us a lot closer (13-8 v 6-4 Shamrock) so we’ve got to be trying for at least a point I think. And their manager (Alan Mathews) is under pressure if you believe the news articles…
Both O’Neill (Red) and Graydon (Yellows) are suspended, so Curran comes in and Costelloe is back on the right – Melody would keep Graydon out anyway at the moment. Hughes partners Collins in Central Defence. Shamrock (With Sammon & Evans – Brian has only scored 2 in 16, come back to Cobh!!!) start with a 4-4-1-1 – Sammon on the bench, Athlone old-boy Andrew Moore starts up top. David Evans not even on the bench….
FT Cobh Ramblers 1 (Melody 8) Shamrock Rovers 1 (Kavanagh 33) Att 492 (204 Away)
A good start from Cobh, We should have been 1-0 to the good in the 6th minute, Costelloe somehow hitting the Keeper from 2 yards. We only had to wait a minute though before taking the lead. Some mad, bad defending by Shamrock, an attempted clearance by Brian Kavanagh finding that man Melody on the edge of the area, who pinged one in the top left hand corner!! 1-0 Cobh! Very quiet until just after the half hour when Shamrock equalised – Another bloody set-piece, a cleared corner that Kavanagh was on hand to to half volley in from 15 yards. 1-1 at half time, very tight.
Lewis off at half-time, looks like he’s taken some kind of knock plus he’s on a yellow. Taylor on in his place. A good, close start to the half. 60 gone. Phillips on for Hurley. 75 gone, Curran has been very lightweight today – Doherty on (for his Premier Division Debut) for the last 15. Injury time… And it’s all over! 1-1, another very valuable point.
Another point to the good, clear in 6th by 7 points as Waterford lose. Still 14 points clear of the relegation zone with 17 games left. We’re only 6 points outside the European spots… Cork’s 1-0 win over Dundalk is the upset of the week.
So that’s it for the games this month, just a few little bits to wrap up.
So the Shamrock Rovers manager Alan Mathews got the heave-ho after the game… Just half a season in charge. Chris Hughton is favourite for the job… A bit different to the Brighton job!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
That’s a kick in the balls – Adam Mylod, Keeper supreme and almost ever present this save is out fro a few months with a stress fracture in his back. We have Mark Burke (2* CA) who St. Pats are sniffing around. We have 4 games before the transfer window opens….
And so we end the month. Again, not a bad one, W1 D2 L1.
Light relief on the 1st of the month with a trip to Cork for the Munster Senior Cup Semi Final – would be nice to win it 3 times in a row even if nobody cares about it 🙂 Then a winnable game versus Sligo (Who unfortunately are looking a bit stronger now) followed by 2 free hits versus Dundalk (1st) and St. Pat’s (2nd) – that said we’ve beaten both this season.
Finally here is a round-up of the key highlights from the matches this month. See you soon.