Preview: Cobh Ramblers vs UCD

Cobh play host to UCD on Friday night at St Colemans. Even though the season is only seven games old, its games like these that will have a big bearing on where these two sides will finish up come the end of season.

According to the table UCD and Cobh are two evenly matched sides. Both have one win, two draws and four defeats from their opening seven games. UCD have scored one more and conceded one less than Cobh.

A closer look at the table reveals what may be a telling difference between the two sides. Cobh are currently unbeaten at home. A good home record is important to every team but for a newly promoted side with ambitions of staying in the top flight, making your home patch a place where teams don't like visiting is essential.

Captain Alan Carey touched on this fact earlier in the week - "I think our home form will keep us up, we have shown in our home games that we are hard to beat at St Colman's Park. We have been playing well, but haven't been getting the results, and as it is always hard to pick up points from the bigger clubs, we will focus on our home form for the match against U.C.D".

In their three games at St Colemans, Cobh have drawn with Galway and Cork and beaten Shamrock Rovers. Against Galway they were the better side and probably should have registered their first win of the season. The Cork game was a close affair but Cobh matched them in all areas and fully deserved a point. Come the end of the season the two nil win over Rovers may well rank as one of the performances of the eircom league season.

Ahead of Fridays game, Cobh manager Stephen Henderson spoke to the clubs official website, cobhramblers.ie - "Our team spirit is high in this league and we will continue to work hard. We will be looking at the U.C.D game, as just that, another game but will be mindful of our home form and will look to take maximum points".

Despite conceding a late equaliser last week at Tolka Park, UCD manager Pete Mahon remained upbeat. Speaking after the game to extratime.ie, he said " I think looking at the game we had the better chances. I thought our back four were absolutely magnificent - so much better than last week against Drogheda. Overall If we continue to play like we did there tonight I would be very very hopeful that we will get away from the bottom of the league, its a very very tight league as you can see".

UCD are another side that have been playing well and maybe not getting the results they should be. On day one poor defending and a lack of concentration cost them the game against Derry - other than that they were the better side and created more openings. A week later in Ballybofey they again did enough to get something from the game, perhaps even a win, and at Turners Cross Mahon believes they deserved a point.

Mahon is confident his young side can pick up the three points " Cobh haven't been beaten at home in around 15 month. It has to end sometime so why not now?"

Cobh have just one injury concern. Hardworking striker Graham Cummins is a doubt with a back injury. Alan Carey is fit to return after missing the last two games through injury.

UCD will be without Alan McNally after the recent passing of his father. Midfielder Brian King, perhaps UCDs most consistent performer this season to date, is a doubt. King picked up a shin injury last week in the game against Shamrock Rovers. Young midfielder James Sullivan is also a doubt after he picked up an injury in the league cup game earlier in the week - however its unlikely he would have been involved anyway.

Kick off at St Colemans is 7.45