First Division: Cobh Ramblers take the points against Waterford

Goals from Jack Doherty and Brendeán Frahill made sure that Cobh Ramblers continued their promotion push with a 2-0 victory over Waterford at the RSC, their first win of its kind at the venue since 2016.

It was a fixture that could be seen as the biggest test of Shane Keegan's squad during the run-in. They were coming up against a direct rival, with the added twist being Cobh’s victory over Waterford last June.

It wasn’t just the scale of their ambitions that confronted them on Cork Road, the Ramblers also had to deal with their dour record at the RSC on Friday.

Cobh felt the full extent of that earlier in the season when they lost 5-0 in May. Keegan’s team looked like a totally different side on this occasion; they defensively sound while holding their shape in the pouring rain.

While the home side did had the majority of the chances in the first half, they struggled to fully test a Cobh defence that was compact and rigid. This forced Waterford to shoot from distance and an early Dean McMenamy attempt went out for a goal-kick in the 20th minute.

Connor Parsons then won his side a corner and Shane Griffin’s set piece ended with the offside flag going up after Derik Osede headed the ball on inside the area.

The best chance of the half involved goalkeeper Sam Sargeant and Killian Cantwell in the middle of the park. Just two passes created space for Cameron Cresswell to try something and his left legged attempt rolled out for a goal-kick.

Cobh won their first corner of the game in the 27th minute through a Darragh Power clearance and the only thing they could create with this was a shot from outside the area that McMenamy blocked.

It was goaless at the break and the game restarted with Doherty forcing a low save from Sargeant. The