October was the month where Cobh Ramblers finally finished their incredible 2022 campaign by securing two trophies, completing a seasonal quadruple with the Irish Premier League and the FAI Cup.
Cobh Ramblers found their way past First Division outfit Drogheda United relatively easily with a storming 5-1 win with Layton Stewart and Will McGowan getting their team off to a great start with two early goals. Before the first half concluded, Cobh were already 4-0 up with another goal from Layton Stewart and one from Alex Samizadeh.
Will McGowan completed Cobh’s scoring to make it 5-0 in the 55th minute, making Drogheda obsolete aside from a late consolation goal from Greg Moorhouse.
After Dundalk lost a vital game in hand to Sligo Rovers, they lost a crucial advantage in the title race with Cobh having plenty to thank David Cawley for as he bagged a brace in a 3-0 win against the sole title challengers going into the final day.
This meant that Conor McDonald had a one-point advantage over Dundalk going into the 3PM kick-off at the Belfield Bowl. Cobh seized on their advantage by smashing the already relegated University College Dublin 5-0.
After an early sending off for Gavin Gunning, Will McGowan put Cobh in the lead, closely followed by a second from Layton Stewart. The 20-year-old bagged his brace just before the half-time whistle.
In the last five minutes, Will Longbottom and Danny Lupano both decided to heap on the misery for The Students and delight for The Rams with goals in the 86th and 89th minutes, sending them on their way to collect the club’s first ever Premier League title in its centenary year.
A trip back to the capital was due a fortnight later to face Bohemian in the FAI Ford Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium where the Republic of Ireland national team play senior fixtures.
Layton Stewart scored a very early opener for his team in the 3rd minute of play before it was cancelled out by the opposition's right-winger Luke Wade-Slater.
The score remained at 1-1 all the way through normal time and then all the way through extra-time, meaning the score had to be settled on penalties.
The shootout was a tense occasion, going to sudden-death at the very last as Bohemian missed their third penalty meanwhile Jacob Hanson missed the penalty that would’ve won them the cup. However, Matt Blake stepped up for the first penalty in sudden-death and tidily poked the ball to the left as Daniel Grant’s effort was saved by Josef Perrin, leading Cobh Ramblers to an incredible quadruple-winning season under Conor McDonald.
Wolf: Thank you mate!
James: I feel like Conor's earned a gamble this time around, call it Pavlovian conditioning
tedbro20: Thank you mate, it took me by surprise!
Justice: We'll just call it one of the footballing urban myths
Scott: The run of form pre-September really was the turning point and the part where we really showed title-winning qualities. Who knows what's next? With UCL football now arriving on the south coast, what else can another club offer him?
Seb: Cobh should be doing everything to retain Conor's services I believe, after this seasons achievements alone! Stewart has been nothing short of exceptional and really pushed us over the line with his performances after July. The quadruple is done and who knows, maybe Dundalk's dominance will be replaced by a Cobh dominance!
