Cobh Ramblers have one foot in the promotion play-off final after Pierce Philips' first half goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Wexford FC at Ferrycarrig Park.
He flicked in a Mikie Rowe corner in the 15th minute and that gives Shane Keegan’s side a narrow lead going into the second leg at St Colman’s Park on Saturday.
It was the second meeting between the two sides in a matter of weeks and there was no repeat of the 3-3 draw at the beginning of October.
This was a cagey affair and James Keddy’s players used the home comforts to push up and try and get an early goal.
That led to a Reece Webb breaking down the right wing in the second minute and his pass to Darragh Levingston was hit narrowly wide by the midfielder in the second minute.
If Cobh’s plan was to be patient - it was almost torn up when Lee Steacy spilled a Webb cross and Thomas Oluwa set up Ethan Boyle for a shot that went well over the intended target.
The Ramblers did get up the pitch in numbers after Kian Corbally brought down Rowe and a free-kick was given. Jack Doherty took this and forced a stretched save that put the ball out for a corner.
Rowe’s set piece floated in and Philips forced the ball over the goal-line to give his side the lead.
Wexford almost equalised through a long throw-in that Aaron Dobbs and James Crawford used to create space for Corban Piper. His low shot rattled the post and Rowe reacted to get the loose ball away.
The Ramblers withered the storm and then created a number of chances in quick succession. The first was a cross that Wilson Waweru failed to turn in and that was followed by Rowe hitting the crossbar with a free-kick.
It was relentless from a group experiencing play-off football for the first time since 2016, and Keegan’s players showed no signs of tiring in the minutes leading up to the break.
Wexford had a new lease of life when the game restarted and they used this to get players up the pitch.
This almost paid off when Dodds drew a save from Lee Steacy and Levingston tried to score with the rebound. The goalkeeper once again denied Wexford from close range and Charlie Lyons stopped the loose ball on the goal-line.
A Cobh injury ended Wexford's push by taking the sting out of the game. Keddy responded to that by bringing on Danny Furlong, and the striker came on having scored seven goals during the regular season for his side.
His impact was minimal as Cobh stuck to their positions and forced Wexford to shoot from distance. The claret and blue wall could not be breached and the Ramblers went home with the most slender of advantages in the tie.
Wexford FC: Noel Heffernan; Darragh Levingston, Ethan Boyle, Aaron Dobbs, James Crawford, Corban Piper (Luka Lovic 45), Kian Corbally (Danny Furlong 71), Reece Webb, Cian O’Malley, Luke Browne, Thomas Oluwa (Mark Hanratty 71).
Cobh Ramblers: Lee Steacy; Cian Browne, Justin Eguaibor, Charlie Lyons, Wilson Waweru, Pierce Philips (Alec Byrne 75), Jack Doherty, Mikie Rowe (Matthew McKevitt 87), Dean Larkin, James O’Leary (Tiernan O’Brien 90), Jason Abbott (Dale Holland 88).
Referee: Alan Patchell
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