Hill looks for positives in defeat
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The long wait for a Cobh Ramblers victory in the FAI Cup will continue up until next year at least, as Dave Hill’s side slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Cherry Orchard over the weekend.
It is now 2004 since Ramblers won a game in the blue riband competition – and that was a penalty shootout triumph against Limerick after they couldn’t be separated over 180 minutes – but the manner in which they failed to win at St Colman’s Park on Saturday afternoon left a bitter taste in the mouth of Hill.
John Meade had given the home team a 48th minute lead, but the Orchard capitalised on some slack play at the back, equalising through an Ian McNeill penalty before Adam Crowther grabbed the winner on 76 minutes.
“It was very disappointing because the two mistakes we made gifted them two goals. I said it during the first half and reiterated it at half-time about the conditions, the pitch was rough and bobbly and I told the lads not to dive into challenges,” Hill said.
“And of course then in the second half, we dived in and gave a penalty away for the equaliser and then our ‘keeper was challenged and dropped the ball for their winner. That was how we lost the game because as far as I could see we controlled the play at times.”
While realistically Ramblers were never going to win the cup and the priority is outwitting main non-league challengers Tralee and Carlow in Pool 2 of the ‘A’ Championship, Hill could still take several positives from the defeat.
“Considering how bad the conditions were, I felt we dealt with them quite well other than for the two goals and we probably should have scored in the first half. We created a few chances and if they didn’t go over the bar or wide we would have controlled the second half even more.
“Another positive is that it was another game under our belts. It’s only the start of our season of course and we’ve only played two league games, so it’s a total of six games we’ve played now. We’re getting better with each game and the squad is getting stronger.
“It just shows that we have to continue working on things and it reminds me as a manager and a coach that’s what we need to do to improve.”
Next up in the league is a home game against Tralee – who subsequently drew their 2nd round game with Youghal United 0-0, forcing a replay in Ardrath Park this Saturday – and Hill realises the importance of picking up points against the Kerry side, particularly at home.
“They’re all important games for us, especially at home. The best thing we can do is to get back to winning ways again like we did last season. We’ve played Tralee the past few years and we know them quite well now, but it’ll be interesting to see how they do after last year was like a transition year for them.”
It is now 2004 since Ramblers won a game in the blue riband competition – and that was a penalty shootout triumph against Limerick after they couldn’t be separated over 180 minutes – but the manner in which they failed to win at St Colman’s Park on Saturday afternoon left a bitter taste in the mouth of Hill.
John Meade had given the home team a 48th minute lead, but the Orchard capitalised on some slack play at the back, equalising through an Ian McNeill penalty before Adam Crowther grabbed the winner on 76 minutes.
“It was very disappointing because the two mistakes we made gifted them two goals. I said it during the first half and reiterated it at half-time about the conditions, the pitch was rough and bobbly and I told the lads not to dive into challenges,” Hill said.
“And of course then in the second half, we dived in and gave a penalty away for the equaliser and then our ‘keeper was challenged and dropped the ball for their winner. That was how we lost the game because as far as I could see we controlled the play at times.”
While realistically Ramblers were never going to win the cup and the priority is outwitting main non-league challengers Tralee and Carlow in Pool 2 of the ‘A’ Championship, Hill could still take several positives from the defeat.
“Considering how bad the conditions were, I felt we dealt with them quite well other than for the two goals and we probably should have scored in the first half. We created a few chances and if they didn’t go over the bar or wide we would have controlled the second half even more.
“Another positive is that it was another game under our belts. It’s only the start of our season of course and we’ve only played two league games, so it’s a total of six games we’ve played now. We’re getting better with each game and the squad is getting stronger.
“It just shows that we have to continue working on things and it reminds me as a manager and a coach that’s what we need to do to improve.”
Next up in the league is a home game against Tralee – who subsequently drew their 2nd round game with Youghal United 0-0, forcing a replay in Ardrath Park this Saturday – and Hill realises the importance of picking up points against the Kerry side, particularly at home.
“They’re all important games for us, especially at home. The best thing we can do is to get back to winning ways again like we did last season. We’ve played Tralee the past few years and we know them quite well now, but it’ll be interesting to see how they do after last year was like a transition year for them.”
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile