Kerry FC win on the road to Cobh Ramblers to return to play-off berth

SSE Airtricity First Division Cobh Ramblers 0 - 2 Kerry FC First-half goals from Cian Bargary and Cian Brosnan gave Kerry FC a massive three points against Cobh Ramblers in the race for promotion in St. Colman's Park in the League of Ireland First Division on Friday evening. With just one game to play, the three points for Colin Healy's side alongside a defeat for Athlone and a Longford Town draw have sent Kerry up to fourth place, two clear off the dotted line with just one fixture remaining. A home win for Kerry against the already crowned Cork City next Friday evening would see them secure a play-off position for the first time, but the buffer now created means even a point could be enough. Goal difference could also become a factor, and the two for Kerry this evening has helped them go two clear of Longford, four clear of Athlone and a massive ten clear of Cobh Ramblers. On the pitch, Kerry dominated the tie, and were well and truly deserving of the three points. Healy's side dominated from the start and led by two by the half-hour mark, thanks to two fantastic half-volleys, first from Cian Bargary and then from Cian Brosnan. The home side's attempted response in the second half fell flat, outside of some early half chances, as the Kerry defence stood tall right to the final whistle, to send the massive travelling support home happy. Colin Healy made one change to the side that came from behind to beat Finn Harps, with Cian Bargary in from the start. Daniel Okwute also returned to the match-day squad. The 250 travelling Kerry fans were noisy from the off, and they had every right to be, as from the first whistle, Kerry dominated the tie. Seán O'Connell and Cian Bargary each had an early effort, both off target, as the warning signs were building for Cobh, who could not get out of their own final third. Kerry looked seriously dangerous from set pieces. In-swinging corners from both sides from O'Connell and Bargary proved tricky for Cobh to deal with, especially in a swirling wind, but the game's opening goal came from a different type of set play. Samuel Aladesanusi caused trouble with long throws on several occasions, and just after the twenty-minute mark of the tie the visitors made one of them count. Aladesanusi's long throw was met by a Ramblers defender, but the bouncing clearance fell the way of ex Cobh man Cian Bargary, who fired on the half volley towards goal and, with a little help off a deflection from Jordan Adeyemi, found the net off the inside of the far post. The home side weren't showing any threat going forward in the first half. A pair of corners midway through the half were dealt with by Kerry, whilst a Brian Lenihan shot flashed past the far post and well wide. On the half-hour mark, it looked like Vincent Borden was about to put Kerry two to the good at the edge of the area; Cobh captain Cian Coleman produced an outstanding block, but Kerry did not have to wait long for their second, which came just two minutes later. Once again, it started with an Aladesanusi long throw; this time though, Ramblers cleared their lines, but back to the wing for Aladesanusi to cross. Timo Martin came to gather in the air but dropped the ball to the feet of Cian Brosnan, who composed himself to drill into the bottom right corner to send the away end into raptures. Naturally, the second half opened with the home side pushing to get back into the tie. With the wind advantage now on their side, they showed their own threat from set pieces. Shane Griffin wrapped a free-kick off his left foot just past the top left corner of Matt Connor's net, before both Rhys Gourdie and Oran Crowe both missed the target off of half chances from corners. But as the half wore on, the home side's frustrations grew large. Colin Healy's well-drilled Kerry defence dealt with everything that Ramblers threw at them, with ex-Cobh man Jonas Hakkinen getting his head on virtually everything thrown into the area. Ramblers went a full twenty minutes without an effort on goal before Shane Griffin's shot deflected out for a corner ten minutes from time, but once again, Kerry dealt with the set piece. Ewan Lee almost put the game out of sight down the other end with a rare flurry forward which found him shooting from twenty yards, but the shot flashed past the left post and wide. Ramblers threw the kitchen sink in the final few minutes of the tie. Rhys Gourdie flashed a shot from the edge of the area just over the top of the bar with three minutes to play, which brought out ironic cheers from the away support, who are now well and truly starting to believe.