Eoin Martin’s 105th minute goal was enough to send Treaty United to the playoffs final for the first time in the clubs history.
Cobh Ramblers: 1 (1-2)
Treaty United: 1 (1-2)
The first chance of the match fell to Treaty United’s Karl O’Sullivan. The winger did very well to get into the box, but his effort was well saved by Timothy Martin. Cobh had a half-chance of their own minutes later when Cian Murphy tested Corey Chambers from a difficult angle, though it caused the Treaty United goalkeeper little trouble.
A dull opening half played into Tommy Barrett’s favor, with his side content to hold onto their first-leg advantage. The closest Cobh Ramblers came was through a Dylan McGlade free kick that went straight into the arms of Chambers.
Cobh came out for the second half with a noticeable increase in intensity. A Dylan McGlade corner was perfectly delivered to find the head of Jonas Hakkinen. His effort was blocked, as was the follow-up from John O’Donovan.
As the minutes went by, Ramblers continued to apply more and more pressure. Richie Holland adjusted his team’s shape to a 3-5-2, while Treaty United had every player sitting back to prevent any chance of an equaliser.
Despite having no recognised striker on the pitch, Treaty were causing serious problems on the counterattack. They broke quickly and got forward in numbers, with the ball teed up for Lee Devitt from just outside the box, but his effort was well saved by Martin.
Photo via KBD Photos
The final minutes saw the game go from end to end. Fionn Doherty was played through on goal but was beaten to the ball by Timothy Martin. Martin quickly released it, with Cobh desperate for a goal and Treaty desperate to stop them. A Cobh player was brought down on the edge of the box, but the resulting free kick from Declan McDaid was ineffective, as Corey Chambers routinely tipped the ball over the bar.
The game had reached the inevitable stage of Treaty United keeping the ball in the corner of the pitch, in front of their overjoyed supporters.
However, Cobh Ramblers would get one more chance. A low cross into the box glided past a host of Treaty and Cobh players before finding Matthew Whealan. Whealan flicked the ball up, brought it back down, and squeezed it into the bottom right corner. In the 92nd minute, Cobh Ramblers finally found their first goal of the tie, sending the game to extra time.
Whelan continued to cause problems for the Treaty defenders. He carried the ball down the left wing before driving it across the box to find Cian Murphy, but Chambers reacted well to get out, make himself big, and deny Murphy from close range.
The late goal in normal time certainly didn’t deflate Treaty United. They were the better of the two sides in the first half of extra time and made it count. Eoin Martin carried the ball forward before laying it off to Devitt, who quickly found Ben Lee. Lee returned the pass into the path of Martin, who calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net.
Once again, from a set piece, McGlade found the head of Hakkinen, but his effort went narrowly wide and into the side netting.
There would be no last minute Cobh Ramblers equaliser, as Treaty United held onto their lead and move on to the playoff final to face Bray Wanderers.
Cobh Ramblers: Timothy Martin, Iestyn Hughes, Cian Coleman, Jonas Hakkinen, Shane Griffin, Niall O’Keefe, Harvey Cribb, Cian Bargary, Barry Coffey, Dylan McGlade, Cian Murphy Subs: John O’Donnovan for Cian Coleman (37′), Rhys Gourdie for Harvey Cribb (HT), Sam Belles for Iestyn Hughes (64′) Matthew Whealan for Cian Bargary, Shane Griffin for Nial O’Keeffe (Both 73′) Nolan Evers for Shane Griffin (95′)
Treaty United: Corey Chambers, Evan O’Connor, Eoin Martin, Richkov Boevi, Ben Lynch, Colin Conroy, Lee Devitt, Karl O’Sullivan, Lee J Lynch, Mark Byrne, Joe Hanson Subs: Fionn Doherty for Joe Hanson (70′), Ben Lee for Lee J Lynch (77′) Steven Healy for Colin Conroy (100′)
Referee: Mark Houlihan