Cobh Ramblers U16 Throught To National Cup Final

St Francis (Dublin) 1 Cobh Ramblers 1 (AET)

Cobh Ramblers won 6-5 on Penalties

Venue: John Hyland Park Baldonnel

Last Sunday May 8th was a great day in the current Schoolboys Football Season for the Springfield Ramblers Club as our Under 16 Premier League team qualified for the Final of the SFAI U16 National Cup Competition. The team won a very tough semi-final away tie against St Francis FC of Dublin at John Hyland Park, Baldonnel.

On a windy afternoon the home side started in a positive manner and took the lead on five minutes after some hesitation in the Ramblers defence. But the Ramblers side settled after this and began to get a grip on the game. Playing with a strong wind behind them in the first period St Francis waged a number of attacks down the flanks but the Cobh full backs Lloyd Spillane & Adam Thompson coped ably with everything that came their way. As the half wore on the Cobh team gained the upper hand and created a number of chances, most notably when Jason Dunphy found the side netting after a through pass from Daniel Santry. Santry himself had chance prior to this but lost out in a race with the home keeper. Jason Dunphy then crossed from the right to find Jason Abbott but his shot went over the bar. The St Francis goalkeeper thwarted several other chances, catching and punching the ball and getting vital touches to shots and crosses.

The second half was all Cobh Ramblers as they pushed hard to find the equaliser. Playing with the wind they now dominated the possession and rained down assaults on the St Francis goal. The goalkeeper came to the home side’s rescue again and again as Ramblers pressed. Jason Dunphy had another great chance when the keeper spilled a cross only to see his effort cleared off the line. Dave Curran then saw his magnificent shot from wide on the right narrowly miss the top corner. The equaliser finally came when from a Jason Abbott corner on the right Paul Ronan rushed to the near post to power a header past the St Francis defence. Ramblers were totally on top now and went in search for a winner. It nearly arrived when from another set piece on the right Cillian Tallon fired a clever scissors kick goalward but it went narrowly wide of the post. Normal time finished with the teams locked on a one all score line.

Cobh Ramblers continued to dominate possession in extra time but could not find a winning goal. So the game was decided with the dreaded penalty shoot-out. To the credit of the young lads on both sides the quality of the penalty shots was of a very high standard in a pressure situation. Cobh Ramblers kicks were taken by Daniel Santry, Jason Abbott, Adam Thompson, Brendán Frahill and Tony O’Donovan. With the sides level after the regulation five kicks sudden death now came in to play. With the pressure rising all the time goalkeeper Shane Hallahan stepped up to the mark and coolly slotted his penalty kick home. St Francis then missed their next kick to spark wild scenes of celebrations among the Cobh team and the travelling supporters.

The team has now qualified for the final tie against Belvedere of Dublin which will be played on Sunday next May 15^th at Jackson Park, Glenamuck Road, Kilternan, Co. Dublin home of Wayside Celtic.

The team has performed admirably in the games prior to this round with securing wins in some difficult ties in five previous rounds. The boys emerged from the Cork side of the draw with a 2-0 victory over Rockmount. They then beat Carrigtwohill on a 4-0 score line in the round of 64, had a brilliant 2-0 victory in a difficult away tie against Clonmel Town in the round of 32 and at the last 16 stage they had a 2-1 victory against Killarney Celtic in a tough encounter at home. They then overcame a very strong Ballyheane side from Mayo in the Quarter Final at the VEC grounds on a 3-1 score line.

The Under 16 team under coaches Niall Abbott, Mossie O’Mahony and Frank Collins are in a challenging position near the top of the U16 Premier League table. The Club wishes the very best of luck to the lads in the final. There will be a supporter’s bus travelling to the game and all inquiries should be made to Niall Abbott on 0871279773.