Treaty United open season against Cobh Ramblers in SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division

FIRST DIVISION

TREATY UTD V COBH RAMBLERS
Date: Friday, February 14
Venue: Markets Field
Kick-off: 7.45pm
On TV: LOI TV Watch

TREATY United kick off their 2025 SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division campaign with a home tie against Cobh Ramblers at the Markets Field at 7.45PM.

It’s been an interesting off-season for Treaty United and Cobh Ramblers and both are likely to turn up to the Markets Field with starting XIs that will be quite different from the last time they met in September.

Treaty United have flown under a lot of peoples radar. In early activity, manager Tommy Barrett locked down key members of last year's squad.

Barrett then brought a lot of trialists into training camp as pre-season started, running the rule over quite a number of players before adding to his squad with a number of exciting signings in the last week or so.

Players like Joe Hanson and Ben Lee (who both found the net in pre-season fixtures against Premier Division opposition) Vojtech Ptacek and defensive/midfield re- enforcements like Éoin Martin and Conor Wilson are new to the League of Ireland.

New arrivals with League of Ireland experience, like Glin native Karl O’Sullivan, Valerii Dolia, Ben Lynch and Roy Lawlor, join fans favourites’ like Lee J Lynch, Yoyo Mahdy, Lee Devitt and Corey Chambers as Tommy Barrett builds a squad which he hopes will be challenging for play-off spots this season.

Cobh have been one of the division’s big spenders with new owners, US-based FC32, investing heavily in the squad and they are one of the early favourites for the First Division title and promotion to the Premier Division.

Their recruitment has leveraged heavily from players who were part of Cork City’s First Division title winning squad last season with no fewer than six players making the short journey from Turners Cross to St Coleman’s Park.

The pressure will be on Cobh Ramblers and their new manager, Michael McDermott, as with significantly increased investment comes much higher expectations.

“I’m looking forward to the new season and although we have lost a lot of experienced players with the likes of Enda Curran, Ben O’Riordan and Stephen Christopher, overall I am happy with the lads we retained and gained and hope to have a positive season.

“The lads have really worked hard in the preseason and we hope to bring a lot of energy into the season and entertain the fans in the Markets Field,” said Treaty United manager Tommy Barrett.

Treaty United CEO Ciara McCormack is looking forward to her second season in charge of the club.

“We’re enhancing the game day experience at the Markets Field with a kids’ zone, a hospitality suite, and more this season.

“We’d love to see you to start the season on February 14th, at 7:45pm when we take on Cobh Ramblers.

“Don’t miss out on what promises to be an unforgettable season,” she said earlier this week.