Mikie Rowe struck against his former side as Wexford defeated Cobh Ramblers 2-0, with Gavin Hodgins sealing the win in a dominant display.
Wexford 2
Cobh Ramblers 0
Wexford resoundly beat Ramblers 3-0 on the opening night of the season in St. Coleman’s Park. Cobh went into the return fixture on a good run of form after three wins and a draw with hopes of reversing their previous defeat at the hands of the Wexford side.
Cobh Manager Fran Rockett made three changes to his starting lineup. Shane ’Big Griff’ Griffin replaced Gary Buckley who was absent through illness while Jason Abbott replaced Mikey Carroll in midfield. Upfront Wilson Waweru was restored to the team with Rhys Kelly Noonan dropping to the bench.
As always with the League of Ireland there was plenty of interest for Ramblers fans in the Wexford squad with both Dean and Jack Larkin on the bench. The Larkin brothers previously played for Cobh and it was encouraging to see Jack Larkin back playing after a long injury lay off.
Wexford talisman Mikie Rowe also previously played for the Rams 15 times at the back end of the 2023 season, when Cobh went all the way to the playoff final under Shane Keegan. Rowe scored 5 times in those appearances and remains very popular with Cobh Ramblers’ fans. Rowe also has a habit of coming back to haunt Cobh in the games since he left St. Coleman’s Park and on a perfect early summer evening for football on one of the few remaining grass pitches in the First Division this would once again come true.
Wexford started brightly with a Max Murphy corner in the seventh minute flicked wide by Evan Osman. Murphy was once again the source in the 9th minute when a good ball into the box was missed by Jake Doyle but Mickie Rowe at the back post stooped to head from close range leaving Timo Martin in the Ramblers’ goal little chance. Once again Rowe was back to punish Ramblers.
Cobh were putting in a lot of effort with Waweru trying to hold up the ball but the Rams were struggling to create any chances of note. In the 40th minute Doyle curled a shot wide of the Cobh goal. Three minutes later Wexford’s Gavin Hodgins tried a shot from distance which was easily saved by Martin. Neither team created much by the way of clear cut opportunities and Wexford were well worth their lead at the break.
Wexford began the second half brightly with Mikie Rowe cutting in from the left in the first minute only to have his shot comfortably saved by Martin. Five minutes later Doyle headed straight at Martin from another dangerous Murphy corner. In the 60th minute Rowe found Hodgins with a good cross but the forward headed wide. In the 68th minute Wexford had a great chance when Jamie Wynne broke free after a mistake by Griffin in the Ramblers defence. Martin saved Wynne’s shot well with his feet to keep Ramblers in the game.
Following this Rockett rang the changes for Cobh with Jason Abbott, Dylan McGlade and Lucas Curtin replaced with Mikey Carroll, Rhys Kelly Noonan, and Luka Le Bervet. The changes brought more energy to the Cobh side but they were still struggling to create chances.
In the 72th minute Murphy again crossed a good ball finding Doyle who fired over from the edge of the box. Wexford’s full back Murphy was excellent throughout. 4 minutes later substitute Kaylem Harnett had another great chance for Wexford but his shot from 10 yards was once again well saved by Martin. Ramblers’ Luxemburg goalkeeper had kept them in the game for a second time. Only a minute later the Cobh Keeper could do nothing however about Wexford’s second as Gavin Hodgins latched onto a long throw and rifled the ball low past the outstretched hand of Martin. That goal effectively ended the game as a contest.
With five minutes remaining Cobh crafted one of their very few chances when Kelly- Noonan latched onto a good ball over the top from Mikey Carroll. The ball eventually fell to Oran Crowe but his deflected shot was well held by Paul Martin. A minute into injury time Liam Doyle drove over the bar from the edge of the box. Almost immediately Wexford broke again with Jake Doyle’s strike turned onto the crossbar by another great save by Martin. Wexford ran out to a well deserved 2-0 win.
LINEUPS
Wexford: Paul Martin; Max Murphy, Robbie McCourt, Dylan Hand, Evan Osman; Zayd Abada, Ryan Ritchie, Jamie Wynne; Mikie Rowe, Jake Doyle, Gavin Hodgins.
Subs: Ryan Butler for Osman (HT); Jack Larkin for Richie (65), Liam Doyle for Hodgins (81).
Cobh Ramblers: Timothy Martin; Callum Honohan, Breandán Frahill, Shane Griffin, Lucas Curtin; Jason Abbott, Oran Crowe; Wilson Waweru, Rhys Gourdie, Dylan McGlade, Rhys Brennan.
Subs: Mikey Carroll for Abbott (69); Rhys Kelly Noonan for McGlade (69), Luka Le Bervet for Curtin (69), Anthony Adenopo for Brennan (79).
Referee: Ryan Maher
Post Match Interview’s
Cobh manager Fran Rockett expressed his disappointment at fulltime. ‘I thought we ticked mostly every box that we planned on doing against Wexford, but that incision, the final third action and getting shots off, troubling the goalkeeper was missing. It’s just an area where we’re leaving ourselves down at the minute. We need to be troubling teams more and that’s been our Achilles heel. Dylan McLeod had a little flurry of goals there but we need other lads chipping in. The boys know how good they are, they showed how good they are tonight but we need to be better in front of goal, it’s as simple as that.’
He also highlighted the nature of the goals Ramblers conceded. ‘Two of the sloppiest goals, like second ball goals. The crossed one bobbling around our box and then a second phase from a throw-in. It is really disappointing to see us fall down on silly mistakes like that.’
The return of Luka Le Bervet from injury was a high point on an otherwise difficult night. ‘Delighted. Look he’s a top, top player. He’s just now got to get a run of games and he’s got to show everyone what he’s made of. You can just see when he’s in possession of the ball what he can do and how he likes to progress the ball. He’s someone that we’re going to need in the upcoming games and we’re so delighted to see him back. What a great lad, great attitude and we need more like him.’
Next up for Cobh Ramblers is an away trip to league leaders Cork City.
Wexford welcome Finn Harps to Ferrycarrig Park.
Both ties will be played on May 1st 2026.