pineapple stu
09/05/2004, 8:37 PM
Cobh Ramblers threw away points with the last kick of the game for the second home match in a row in a fractious and controversial - though entertaining - clash on Saturday. Having denied UCD a clear-cut penalty just two minutes earlier, the referee pointed to the spot after Alex Nesovic, on his Cobh debut, fouled Pat Sullivan, and Seán Finn drilled the penalty home. The draw was probably a fair result as UCD never got going until after Cobh scored and though they had more chances overall, it was Ramblers who had the clearer ones.
In the first half, Cobh's defenders were UCD's best attackers as a shot from the edge of the area was deflected onto the roof of the net, while a Brian Gannon cross from the right took a deflection and Alan O'Shea had to be smart to tip over the bar. But Cobh always threatened and almost got in behind the UCD defence on a couple of occasions, but College held out through a combination of some very suspect offside decisions and a brilliant Neil Gallagher save from a header which was headed (sorry!) for the top corner.
UCD started much the brighter after the break and Robbie Martin could have had them ahead five minutes in, when he went past three Ramblers players on a run to the edge of the six-yard box, but O'Shea produced a good reflex save to deflect the ball wide.
College were sluggish overall though, and Ramblers took advantage to take the lead on 68 minutes. A tame free-kick on the edge of the area - awarded by an outrageously whistle-happy referee - was teed up for the Cobh full-back, and he drilled the ball into the bottom corner - the first goal UCD had conceded in 520 minutes of football.
UCD woke up after that and dominated the remainder of the game, though not without Cobh providing one or two scares. The Cobh defence continued to gift College chances - first, a defender took the ball off the toe of his own keeper and could only watch as it trickled inches wide of the post. Bizarrely, the referee awarded a goal-kick, much to the consternation of Robbie Martin, who was booked for his troubles - one of three UCD players (along with Tony Mac and Robbie Mac) to be booked for dissent and one of six to be booked overall (Finn, Mahon and Sullivan as well). Then an offside trap went woefully wrong to leave four UCD players behind the Cobh lines - skipper Tony McDonnell found himself in acres of space, but instead of taking the ball down, he inexplicably chose to head across goal, and the hastily retreating Cobh defence got back to clear. And not long later, Robbie Martin rose to head a corner goalwards where Colm Kearins, two yards out and with the keeper nowhere, actually managed to clear the ball backwards when it looked easier to score.
In betweentimes, though, Ramblers forced Neil Gallagher into the save of the match when a corner was missed entirely by the UCD defence, leaving a Cobh forward on his own six yards out, but his powerful volley was somehow blocked by Gallagher; the rebound came at the forward too fast for him to do anything other than scoop it over the bar. And from a drive from twelve yards out, Gallagher was forced into another impressive save to tip wide.
Into the last five minutes, and the referee took over. Having spoiled both teams' attempts to play passing football through his many - often mystefying - petty free-kick awards, he then found himself in a position where Robbie Martin had just been hauled down on the edge of the area with no other defenders in sight. Incredibly, he failed to send the Cobh defender off for what was a textbook professional foul, satisfying himself with only a yellow. Seán Finn teed up Alan Mahon, who blazed over. Two minutes later, Martin was through on goal again, only to be blown up for a highly questionable offside, while Hugh Davey shot over on the turn after the ball broke loose in the area.
Into injury time, and it was Brian Gannon's turn to be clear through on goals, this time in the penalty area. He too was clearly pulled back, but the referee ignored UCD's claims for a spot-kick and another red card. But just when it was beginning to look like Cobh's day, he awarded UCD a penalty after Sullivan was fouled. The tension built as the kick was delayed to allow treatment for a Cobh player, but Seán Finn - taking over penalty duties from Robbie Mac, who has missed two of his last three kicks - kept his nerve to rifle the ball into the bottom corner.
There was time only for Cobh to tip off before the final whistle went, but the drama still wasn't over as a section of Cobh fans taunted Sullivan with chants of "Cheat", while there was more fraction after the game as some Cobh fans remarkably saw fit to ask UCD fans if the referee was playing for us, which brought an understandably angry reply.
Overall, UCD only showed how they can play after they went 1-0 down, and question marks must be raised about the players' temperament, with three bookings for dissent and two for very late tackles. Granted, the performance of the referee understandably raised the frustration, but with a relatively inexperienced subs bench, the team can ill afford six bookings a match. It was also worrying to see them needing a kick before finally playing to their ability - hopefully Pete Mahon can carry this through to the Sligo match and have the team playing in top gear from the start. On a more positive note, we did meet a local bookmaker who had E4,000 on UCD to win the First Division, though he wasn't overly impressed with his first sighting of the team!
UCD - Gallagher; Mahon, Davey, McAuley, McNally; McDonnell, Gannon, Finn, McWalter (Sullivan); Doyle (Kierans), Martin.
Attendance - c 200
In the first half, Cobh's defenders were UCD's best attackers as a shot from the edge of the area was deflected onto the roof of the net, while a Brian Gannon cross from the right took a deflection and Alan O'Shea had to be smart to tip over the bar. But Cobh always threatened and almost got in behind the UCD defence on a couple of occasions, but College held out through a combination of some very suspect offside decisions and a brilliant Neil Gallagher save from a header which was headed (sorry!) for the top corner.
UCD started much the brighter after the break and Robbie Martin could have had them ahead five minutes in, when he went past three Ramblers players on a run to the edge of the six-yard box, but O'Shea produced a good reflex save to deflect the ball wide.
College were sluggish overall though, and Ramblers took advantage to take the lead on 68 minutes. A tame free-kick on the edge of the area - awarded by an outrageously whistle-happy referee - was teed up for the Cobh full-back, and he drilled the ball into the bottom corner - the first goal UCD had conceded in 520 minutes of football.
UCD woke up after that and dominated the remainder of the game, though not without Cobh providing one or two scares. The Cobh defence continued to gift College chances - first, a defender took the ball off the toe of his own keeper and could only watch as it trickled inches wide of the post. Bizarrely, the referee awarded a goal-kick, much to the consternation of Robbie Martin, who was booked for his troubles - one of three UCD players (along with Tony Mac and Robbie Mac) to be booked for dissent and one of six to be booked overall (Finn, Mahon and Sullivan as well). Then an offside trap went woefully wrong to leave four UCD players behind the Cobh lines - skipper Tony McDonnell found himself in acres of space, but instead of taking the ball down, he inexplicably chose to head across goal, and the hastily retreating Cobh defence got back to clear. And not long later, Robbie Martin rose to head a corner goalwards where Colm Kearins, two yards out and with the keeper nowhere, actually managed to clear the ball backwards when it looked easier to score.
In betweentimes, though, Ramblers forced Neil Gallagher into the save of the match when a corner was missed entirely by the UCD defence, leaving a Cobh forward on his own six yards out, but his powerful volley was somehow blocked by Gallagher; the rebound came at the forward too fast for him to do anything other than scoop it over the bar. And from a drive from twelve yards out, Gallagher was forced into another impressive save to tip wide.
Into the last five minutes, and the referee took over. Having spoiled both teams' attempts to play passing football through his many - often mystefying - petty free-kick awards, he then found himself in a position where Robbie Martin had just been hauled down on the edge of the area with no other defenders in sight. Incredibly, he failed to send the Cobh defender off for what was a textbook professional foul, satisfying himself with only a yellow. Seán Finn teed up Alan Mahon, who blazed over. Two minutes later, Martin was through on goal again, only to be blown up for a highly questionable offside, while Hugh Davey shot over on the turn after the ball broke loose in the area.
Into injury time, and it was Brian Gannon's turn to be clear through on goals, this time in the penalty area. He too was clearly pulled back, but the referee ignored UCD's claims for a spot-kick and another red card. But just when it was beginning to look like Cobh's day, he awarded UCD a penalty after Sullivan was fouled. The tension built as the kick was delayed to allow treatment for a Cobh player, but Seán Finn - taking over penalty duties from Robbie Mac, who has missed two of his last three kicks - kept his nerve to rifle the ball into the bottom corner.
There was time only for Cobh to tip off before the final whistle went, but the drama still wasn't over as a section of Cobh fans taunted Sullivan with chants of "Cheat", while there was more fraction after the game as some Cobh fans remarkably saw fit to ask UCD fans if the referee was playing for us, which brought an understandably angry reply.
Overall, UCD only showed how they can play after they went 1-0 down, and question marks must be raised about the players' temperament, with three bookings for dissent and two for very late tackles. Granted, the performance of the referee understandably raised the frustration, but with a relatively inexperienced subs bench, the team can ill afford six bookings a match. It was also worrying to see them needing a kick before finally playing to their ability - hopefully Pete Mahon can carry this through to the Sligo match and have the team playing in top gear from the start. On a more positive note, we did meet a local bookmaker who had E4,000 on UCD to win the First Division, though he wasn't overly impressed with his first sighting of the team!
UCD - Gallagher; Mahon, Davey, McAuley, McNally; McDonnell, Gannon, Finn, McWalter (Sullivan); Doyle (Kierans), Martin.
Attendance - c 200