Cove Rangers FC Matchday Programme – vs. Queen of the South 26.08.23

vs QUEEN OF THE SOUTH

Saturday 26th August ‘23 • 3.00pm KO

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A Sat 2nd Sept, ‘23 Alloa Athletic v Cove Rangers cinch League One

H Sat 9th Sept, ‘23 Cove Rangers v Montrose SPFL Trust Trophy

H Sat 16th Sept, ‘23 Cove Rangers v Kelty Hearts cinch League One

A Sat 23rd Sept, ‘23 Edinburgh City v Cove Rangers cinch League One

LEAGUE TABLE

50/50 WINNER

The winner of the 50/50 at the Falkirk match was Darren Smith who took home the prize of £450.

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Cove were denied a first league win of the season in sickening fashion when the promotion favourites snatched an equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Without injured quartet Blair Yule, Luke Strachan, Mitch Megginson and Fraser Fyvie, and the suspended Paul McGowan, manager Paul Hartley made three changes from the previous week’s opening day loss at Hamilton.

Rio Davidson-Phipps and Scott Williamson – who signed on loan from Queen’s Park twenty-four hours earlier –were both handed debuts, and there was a first start for central defender Cameron Stewart. Mykyta and Gallagher dropped to the bench and Sena and Kerr stepped forward into midfield. Connor Scully captained the side.

We kicked-off on what was a sunny but blustery afternoon and looked to have taken the lead with less than a minute on the clock. Williamson freed Golding down the right and from the resultant cross, Scully powered a header goalwards at the back post. Goalkeeper Sam Long desperately clawed the ball out, but it appeared clearly to have crossed the line. Assistant David Alexander however kept his flag down and the referee had no option but to play on.

We continued to threaten and in the twenty-eighth minute, Burrell controlled a long ball from Gillingham on his chest, turned, and fired in a long

range volley which Long gathered at the second attempt.

With a strong wind at their backs, Falkirk then forced a series of corners one of which resulted in Donaldson shooting from just outside the box, Demus diving to his left to make a fine save.

The visitors might have nudged ahead seconds after the restart when Miller sent in a curling shot from just outside the area, but Demus was alert and dived to his right to push the ball to safety.

The keeper then set up a Cove attack, his long ball over the top chased down by Scott Williamson who pressurised Tom Lang into conceding a corner. Scully whipped his delivery in towards the near post where Golding and Burrell both challenged, the referee deciding that a Falkirk defender had blocked the effort with his hand.

The visitors’ complaints were extended and delayed the taking of the resultant penalty, but Josh KERR maintained his composure and placed the ball beyond the keeper high inside the right post.

Morrison might have levelled almost immediately, his close range effort deflected into the side netting, but they enjoyed a huge stroke of good fortune minutes later. Morrison sent in a dangerous cross which Will GILLINGHAM felt he had to deal with but could only divert into his own

net, the second own goal we had conceded in successive matches.

Despite that, the players regrouped and went back in front. A long ball forward saw Williamson challenging the Falkirk defence and when it bounced up invitingly, Rumarn BURRELL lashed it home with an unstoppable volley from fifteen yards.

Cove Rangers (4-2-3-1)

Demus; Davidson-Phipps (Gallagher 63), Stewart, Gillingham, Jones (Darge 72); Golding (Connell 63), Kerr (Naismith 84), Sena, Scully (c); Williamson, Burrell.

Substitutes

Suman, Ochmanski, Mykyta, Gaffney, Reynolds.

Goalscorers

Kerr (pen 51), Burrell (72).

Booked

Gillingham (32), Jones (65), Gallagher (89).

Falkirk (4-2-3-1)

Long; Yeats, Donaldson (c) (McKay 67), Lang, McCann; Henderson, Spencer; Morrison, Miller (Nesbitt 72), Agyeman (Allan 79); MacIver.

Substitutes

Hogarth, Lawal, Carroll, Honeyman, Walker, Sinclair.

Goalscorers

We might have tied things up in the closing stages when Scott Williamson got in behind Lang and controlled a pass over the top, but he was unable to lift it over Long, and the keeper managed to make what would be a vital save.

With time running out, Falkirk grabbed the leveller when a cross from the left evaded our back line and the unmarked Jordan ALLAN stole in to steer the ball beyond Demus.

Gillingham (OG 56), Allan (90).

Booked

Yeats (12), Henderson (49), McKay (76).

Referee Steven Kirkland

Attendance

1,007

“Josh Kerr maintained his composure and placed the ball beyond the keeper high inside the right post...”

MATCH REPORT

A commanding performance at Links Park brought a richly merited convincing victory as Paul Hartley’s new-look side romped to a comprehensive win.

Rumarn Burrell, Scott Williamson and Mitch Megginson were all on target, and the margin might have been even greater as the side carved out numerous chances throughout the ninety minutes.

The manager made two changes from last week’s 2-2 draw with Falkirk, Dayshonne Golding and Rio DavidsonPhipps dropping to the bench with Paul McGowan, free from suspension, and fit-again skipper Megginson restored to the starting line-up.

We almost took the lead in the thirteenth minute. Scott Williamson gathered the ball, made space for himself, then unleashed a left foot rocket from the edge of the box which

Montrose

Cove Rangers

0

3

cinch League One

Sat 19th August ‘23

Links Park

crashed off the underside of the bar and into Gill’s grateful hands.

The opener came in our next attack. Gillingham played a long pass over the top for Rumarn BURRELL to chase after. The striker lifted the ball over the advancing Gill then beat Quinn into the six yard box to touch it home for his fifth goal of the season.

Montrose came close to an equaliser when Hester raced in behind, but Gillingham recovered in time to make a challenge, and the striker’s shot was deflected into the side netting.

We were to double our lead in the thirtyeighth minute with a quality goal.

Connor Scully stepped out of midfield and played the ball forward. Scott WILLIAMSON collected it, ran at the retreating home defence, created a

yard of space, and fired a superb shot beyond the despairing Gill and into the bottom corner.

Montrose made two changes at the interval and switched to a back four, but we had an explosive start and almost made it 3-0. Josh Kerr’s thirty yard drive cannoned back off the keeper’s right post, and from the rebound, Burrell forced Gill into making a decent save.

The third did come soon after.

With Cove putting the pressure on, Webster attempted the interception inside his own box, but stood on the ball and fell over. Mitch MEGGINSON was first to react and cleverly lifted his chip shot over Gill and into the net.

Williamson was next to threaten but, after teasing the home defence, dragged his shot wide. Immediately after, Scott was the provider, passing for Scully to surge into the box, but Connor also failed to find the target.

The chances kept coming, and Williamson was next up in the sixty-second minute, getting in behind the Montrose defence. Gill saved his first effort, then scrambled his second for a corner.

Jones then chipped a pass forward for Williamson who gathered, made space, and sent a powerful shot goalwards which Gill punched to safety.

Montrose carved out a rare opening soon after. From a corner on the right, Quinn

got in a powerful header which looked to be going in under the bar, but with Demus diving towards the ball, it was Scully, at the post, who headed it over.

Back came Cove, and Megginson, Burrell and Sena combined well to force a corner. Mitch then went off to be replaced by Mark Gallagher before the award could be taken, and when the delivery arrived in the box, Josh Kerr, with his back to goal, controlled it on his chest then sent in an overhead kick which went inches over the bar.

Kyle Connell was keen to get in on the act, and in the eighty-eighth minute, after turning his marker, sent in a powerful twenty-five yard shot just over the crossbar, and he then linked-up with McGowan, who teed-up Burrell to tap the ball into the net deep into stoppage time, but the celebrations were cut short when linesman Traynor lifted his flag.

It was to be the final attempt of what had been an impressive overall performance, the team richly deserving its first victory of the League One season.

“...the team richly deserving its first victory of the League One season.”

Montrose (3-5-2)

Gill; Williamson, Dillon (Thomson 46), Quinn; Machado, Masson (c) (Shrive 67), Brown (Lyons 46), Gardyne, Steeves (Webster 21); McAllister, Hester (Batchelor 72).

Substitutes

Matthews, Watson, Hermiston, Bradford.

Cove Rangers (4-3-1-2)

Demus; Sena, Stewart, Gillingham, Jones; McGowan, Kerr (Darge 81), Scully; Megginson (c) (Gallagher 78); Williamson (Connell 67), Burrell.

Substitutes

Suman, Mykyta, Golding, Gaffney, Reynolds, Davidson-Phipps.

Goalscorers Burrell (14), Williamson (38), Megginson (52).

Referee

Craig Napier

Attendance

544

Management Sponsors

Player Sponsors

Paul Hartley Gordon Young Tam Ritchie

1. Nick Suman

2. Jacob Jones

10. Rumarn Burrell

11. Kyle Connell

14. Luke Strachan

4. Connor Scully

5. Mouhamed Niang

8. Blair Yule

9. Mitch Megginson

7. Paul McGowan

15. Arron Darge

6. Will Gillingham

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16. Iain Vigurs

21. Balint Demus

27. Cameron Stewart

17. Josh Kerr

22. Mark Gallagher

28. Rio Davidson-Phipps

29. Scott Williamson

18. Tyler Mykyta

24. Fraser Fyvie

26. Mark Reynolds

20. Myles Gaffney

19. Dayshonne Golding

Having missed the last four matches through injury, it was a relief to pull the Cove Rangers shirt back on again last weekend, and it proved to be a really enjoyable afternoon for all of us, fans and players alike, as we put in a convincing performance to pick up three important points.

I know from experience just how tough a place Links Park can be to go, but the boys were outstanding. Going away from home and picking up three points in this league is not easy, but we were different class right throughout the team, we caused them real problems, and it was a well-deserved win.

That’s the kind of standard we’ve set now, and we need to maintain it.

Watching on for the last few weeks had been frustrating, so it was a chance for me to get out there and start to build relationships with the other front players. I had trained enough with them, and I’m an experienced player now. I knew what they had to offer, and it was just a case of doing it in a match, which we did; the front three gelled really well at Montrose.

It does take some time when you’ve had the sort of turnaround like we have over the summer. You’ve got a lot of the boys training every day, while there’s a group of us still doing Tuesday and Thursday nights, but we do get time together, and as a group, there are definitely signs that it’s all clicking into place.

It happens in football, players move on, new faces come into a club, and that’s where we are right now. The boys who have been at the club for a while, the new ones, it’s just a case of us all getting used to each other, and building that spirit that has always been a part of Cove’s success over the years.

That is definitely happening, it’s starting to settle down after all the upheaval. We had a cracking team and we were together for a long time, which doesn’t happen often in football, and now we’re starting over.

For me personally, I love playing for Cove Rangers, I want to win games and lift trophies for this club, and that’s what I hope to do.

Some of us have done it before in League One. We know what it takes, but we also know how hard it can be, you’ve got to hit that level every week to pick up points, and if you let it drop, which will happen, you still need to find a way to get something out of games.

It will be a long hard season with some marathon away trips, we know that, but we have the quality and determination within the squad, and if we can play like we did at Links Park, then we will give ourselves a really good chance of having a successful campaign.

It is great to be back at Balmoral Stadium, it is going to be important that we rediscover the form we showed here for years and make it one of the toughest venues in the division for teams to travel to.

We certainly hope to make it an uncomfortable afternoon for Queen of the South and we will give everything we have to try to secure the three points.

Mitch COYC!

(L-R: Jack Robertson, Myles Gaffney, Mikey Milnes, Milosz Ochmanski.)

YOUNG

With the switch towards full-time football and a raft of new signings being brought in, it has been a busy summer for the club.

While the focus has been on the first team, we have also been taking steps towards building for the future with moves being made towards the ultimate aim of setting up our own Cove Rangers FC youth academy.

The club has always had a core of homegrown players and retains that philosophy with the likes of Mitch Megginson, Connor Scully, Blair Yule and Fraser Fyvie still at the heart of everything we do.

Balint Demus signed his first full-time contract and has started the campaign well and Tyler Mykyta is also a major part of the manager’s plans.

In addition to those two, Paul Hartley brought in four youngsters he believes

can play big roles for Cove in the coming years.

The teenagers he signed up are nineteen year old striker Myles Gaffney, left-back Milosz Ochmanski, who is seventeen, and two sixteen year olds, goalkeeper Jack Robertson and central midfielder Mikey Milnes. All four have been training with the first team squad and have been given matchday experience, and the manager says he has already seen development:

“These are talented boys and they have clearly benefitted from working day-in, day-out with the more experienced pros.

“It is really important for them at this stage of their careers to have that kind of exposure, and I’ve been really pleased with what I’ve seen of them.

“Myles has gone out on loan to Inverurie Locos, and we’ll look to get the others clubs too. Playing games will be of huge

benefit to them, and if they can do that, and keep working with us each day, they will all come on in leaps and bounds.”

Having brought in a quartet this summer, the plan is to add to that, and to continue producing our own players:

“That’s what we need to do. There is plenty young talent in this area; we want

to bring those youngsters to Cove, work with them, improve them and build on the model we’ve started this year.

“Inevitably, it has to be a slow process, it will take time, but it is something that is worth investing in and a project which could be really beneficial to the club as we move forward.”

TALENT

“These are talented boys and they have clearly benefitted from working day-in, day-out with the more experienced pros”

PAUL HARTLEY

Good afternoon and welcome to Balmoral Stadium for our fourth game of the League One campaign.

We go into it in high spirits after what was a very pleasing ninety minutes at Links Park seven days ago.

The 3-0 win over Montrose was as convincing a performance as I have seen since returning to the club and it was great to send our loyal fans home happy, it must have been an enjoyable trip back up the coast.

I thought we were terrific from start to finish.

Our forward play was so good, we looked a real threat, and if I’m honest, the winning margin could and should have been even greater. The combination and movement of the strikers caused them all sorts of problems and the work rate was excellent.

We’ve now got different types of front players, and that was something I was keen to achieve with the summer recruitment. Scott Williamson likes to run in behind, Burrell comes short and is a clever player, and we’ve got Mitch who drops into the pocket and can be really important for us. It was great to see them all on target. There’s also Kyle Connell, who has a real eye for goal, and Dayshonne Golding, who were on the bench last week, but are waiting in the wings right now eager for their opportunity.

It wasn’t just about the strikers last week though, it was a strong showing right across the team. There are still things we can do better, and we will continue to work towards that.

It was nice to get that first win of the season, it sets us up for the challenges ahead, and it was good to see the players build on the Falkirk performance. There had been some signs in that one that we were beginning to put it together, and the players stepped it up another level.

Now we just have to keep improving week by week. I can assure you we will be working hard, setting new benchmarks along the way. It’s only the start, it’s a brand new team, but they are coming together, and we still have some really good players to come back.

What was most pleasing last week was seeing the team perform in the way it did. It was a validation of the strategy we implemented in the summer, a recognition that we have signed well and that there is good reason to be optimistic, but we cannot rest on our laurels; we need to keep grafting to ensure we get displays like that on a consistent basis.

Luke Strachan is out long term, but Fraser Fyvie is close to making his comeback and I’ll have Blair Yule available again in a few weeks. There will be some big decisions to make then, but that’s part of the job, and we will need a strong squad in the months ahead.

I do think that the new model, which allows me to work with most of the players on a daily basis, is starting to pay dividends. The fitness levels have certainly gone up a notch, and that will continue to improve as we put the work in.

Today is all about maintaining the standards we set last week, and if we can do that, I would hope that will be enough to ensure another important victory.

Enjoy the game!

Paul Hartley

“Today is all about maintaining the standards we set last week...”

Principal Club Partner

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Richard has pioneered work with charities, community hubs, befriending and foodbank groups, raising over £200,000 in the last 24-months to help worthy causes and individuals facing challenging times.

If you would like an opportunity to me et with him and discuss any matters that you feel he can be of assista nce with , please contact Richard on 07977 399 537 or email rbrooks@aberdeencity.gov.uk

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Wellington Circle, Altens, Aberdeen

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Alan McRae OBE

Keith Moorhouse - Chairman

Graeme Reid - Vice Chairman

Duncan Little

John Sheran

Darren Anderson

Grant Moorhouse

Graeme Anderson, John Morgan

Michael Coull, Richard Forbes

Paul Hartley

Gordon Young

Tam Ritchie

Derek Soutar

Coach Gary Hake

Performance Analyst

Physiotherapist

Kit Manager

Club Doctor

Commercial Manager

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Head of Media & Communications

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Child Wellbeing & Protection Officer

Club Chaplain

Rhys Sutcliffe

Charlotte Clarke

Ian Sellar

David Fowler

Angela Bruce

Davey Byrne

Richard Gordon

Andrew Jamieson

Dave Cowe, Richard Forbes

Kate Dean

Dougie Simpson

Scottish League 1

Winners

‘21-’22

Highland League

Winners

‘00-’01, ‘07-’08, ‘08-’09, ‘12-’13, ‘15-’16, ‘17-’18, ‘18-’19

Runners-up

‘89-’90, ‘92-’93, ‘94-’95, ‘95-’96, ‘09-’10, ‘11-’12, ‘16-’17

Highland League Cup

Winners

‘94-’95, ‘99-’00, ‘04-’05, ‘14-1’5, ‘16-17, ‘18-’19

Runners-up

‘90-’91, ‘92-’93, ‘95-’96, ‘97-’98, ‘05-’06, ‘07-’08, ‘11-’12

Aberdeenshire Shield

Winners

‘90-’91, ‘00-’01, ‘08-’09, ‘17-’18.

Runners-up

‘94-’95, ‘12-’13, ‘15-’16

Scottish League 2 Winners

‘19-’20

Scottish Qualifying Cup (North)

Winners

‘90-’91, ‘00-’01

Runners-up

‘88-’89, ‘91-’92, ‘01-’02, ‘03-’04

Aberdeenshire Cup

Winners

‘01-’02, ‘10-’11, ‘18-’19

Runners-up

‘92-’93, ‘94-’95, ‘16-’17, ‘17-’18

Aberdeenshire & District League

Winners

‘00-’01, ‘08-’09, ‘10-’11, ‘11-’12, ‘12-’13, ‘14-’15

Runners-up ‘06-’07

Aberdeenshire

Centenary Cup

Runners-up

‘86-’87

Inter-League Trophy

Winners

‘01-’02

Cove Rangers

Manager - Paul

Queen of the South

Manager - Marvin Bartley

1 Gordon Botterill

Jordan Houston

Today’s referee - Alastair Grieve

Today’s assistant referees - David Dunne & Lewis Brown

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