Back to Cup business for Ramblers after glamour clash

COBH RAMBLERS must cope with the inevitable contrast between the high excitement of a game against Roy Keane’s Manchester United selection and a less glamorous contest with Limerick if they are to advance in the FAI Carlsberg Cup at St. Colman’s Park tonight (8 pm ko).

The stimulating scenes that surrounded their game with United at Turner’s Cross revived memories of their epic FAI Cup adventure of 1983 when Cobh, then in the Munster Senior League, played Sligo Rovers four times before losing in the semi-final.

Their two games at Flower Lodge on that occasion attracted attendances of up to 15,000 spectators and while the capacity at Turner’s Cross last weekend limited the attendance to 8,000, the background to the game was reminiscent of those heady days of 1983.