— Upcoming fixtures
A Tue 7th Dec, 2021 Queen of the South v Cove Rangers Scottish Cup
A Sat 11th Dec, 2021 Falkirk v Cove Rangers cinch League One
H Sat 18th Dec, 2021 Cove Rangers v Alloa Athletic cinch League One
— League table
50/50 WINNER!
The 50/50 winner at the Queen of the South match was 97316, won by Tommy Wyness.
Together we can
Kindness never mattered more
SPFL clubs across the country are set to participate in the biggest ever Festive Friends programme this holiday season.
Clubs and community trusts across Scotland, will be bring Christmas cheer and connection to elderly people who are socially isolated.
Festive Friends is a brilliant opportunity for clubs to give back to their local communities. Club staff and volunteers will visit participants with hampers, or welcome them to their ground to enjoy a hot lunch.
spfltrust.org.uk/festivefriends
Cove Rangers FC
Balmoral Stadium
Wellington Circle, Altens
Aberdeen, AB12 3JG
Honorary President
Alan McRae
Directors
Keith Moorhouse - Chairman
Graeme Reid - Vice Chairman/Financial Controller
Duncan Little - Secretary/Stadium Manager
John Sheran - Director of Football
Darren Anderson
Grant Moorhouse
Safety Officers
John Morgan & Bill Ogilvie
Committee
Michael Coull, Richard Forbes & Gordon Taylor
Football Manager - Paul Hartley
Assistant Manager - Gordon Young
Fitness Coach - Tam Ritchie
Goalkeeping Coach - Derek Soutar
Head of Youth Development - Gary Hake
Performance Analyst - Ryan Docherty
Physios - Donal Gallacher & Eilidh McGregor
Kit Manager - Adrian Thomson
Club Doctor - David Fowler
Commercial Manager - Angela Bruce
Media Officer - Charlie Allan
Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer - Kate Dean
Club Chaplain - Dougie Simpson
Club Photographers - Dave Cowe, Richard Forbes
cinch League One
Saturday November 27th @ Balmoral Stadium
QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 2 COVE RANGERS 2
mcallister steals the equaliser
Rory McAllister was the last-gasp goal hero as we fought back from the brink of defeat to secure a replay with The Doonhamers down in Dumfries a week on Tuesday.
Veteran striker McAllister’s injury-time screamer, to make it 2-2, was the very least we deserved from a Scottish Cup tie that we had dominated throughout.
It was also controversial one – both Queen of the South goals were hotly disputed, and the visitors were even reduced to 10-men in the latter stages when Roberto Nditi was deservedly shown a red card for a shocking tackle on McAllister.
There was even a first-ever goal for Cove Rangers from Iain Vigurs to savour – and what a screamer it was — in an action packed afternoon that did more than enough to take the minds of the 408 fans inside Balmoral Stadium off the chilly conditions.
The tie might have been in danger of not taking place at all were it not for the efforts of manager Paul Hartley and his back room team, who were out two hours before the scheduled 3pm kick-off shuffling a covering of snow off the pitch.
They were rewarded with an excellent team performance, even though the howling gale sweeping down Balmoral Stadium made it harder to play our usual passing football.
Prior to the game, there was a minute’s applause in tribute to former Cove Rangers vice-chairman Gordon Hutcheon, who has sadly passed away.
There was no sign of the wind problem in the 15th minute, when we pinged first time passes about like they were going out of fashion in a swift move that ended with Mitch Megginson seeing his net-bound 10-yard shot deflected behind for a corner by Nditi.
We forced our first corner in the 25th minute, which was taken on the right by Fraser Fyvie.
Jevan Anderson seemed to be impeded as he went to get the midfielder’s cross, but referee Scott Lambie waved away our penalty appeals.
While all of that was going on, the ball broke back to Fyvie and his shot, from just inside the area, was saved by Queen’s keeper Solomon Brynn – who went on to have an astonishing 90 minutes.
We were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position in the 28th minute, when Harry Milne was tripped as he broke down the left. Fyvie took it, but his powerful shot went over the crossbar.
Queen of the South stunned everyone by taking the lead, just after the half-hour, in extremely controversial fashion.
Ruben Soares Jnr met a cross from the right and his 12-yard header was kept out by an excellent save from Stuart McKenzie, who dived full-length to touch the ball on to the inside of his right post.
McKenzie then recovered quickly and appeared to grab the ball before it crossed the line, but he was left dismayed when far-side ref’s assistant Gordon McCabe signalled it had sneaked it.
Referee Lambie had no choice but to go with his assistant, but it certainly looked as if no goal should have been given. We responded in the best manner possible – by equalising within a minute.
Another foul on Milne led to us being awarded a free-kick a yard outside the Queen of the South area, wide on the left.
Vigurs took it and claimed his first goal for a club with a free-kick that almost ripped out the net after speeding past the diving Brynn. Brynn was at his best to stop us going ahead in the 35th minute.
Milne played a clever one-two with Megginson as he broke into the Queen of the South area and keeper Brynn did well to push the left-back’s 15-yard shot over the crossbar.
Morgyn Neill was the hero at the other end in the 41st minute, when he got back just in the nick of time to knock Max Johnston’s dangerous cross from the right behind for a corner.
The half ended with Fyvie sending a corner over from the right to Vigurs.
His shot at goal was blocked and when the rebound fell into the path of Leighton McIntosh, he was unlucky to see his shot creep wide.
Fyvie went close two minutes after the restart, when he collected a pass from Megginson then hit an 18yard shot just wide of Brynn’s right post.
Within a minute, Fyvie had another go, from a tight angle on the right, but that one went off target as well.
We broke forward again in the 63rd minute and Fyvie was again unfortunate with a clever shot from 12-yards, on the turn, that went wide.
Queen of the South soaked up the pressure and stunned us by going ahead again, in the 71st minute. Again, it was a goal steeped in controversy. Queen of the South’s Alex Cooper was waiting to take a corner from the right when they opted to bring Ruari Paton on for Ally Roy.
Cooper’s corner was then cleared, and we were actually breaking up the park until referee Lambie halted play and ordered a retake, because he had spotted nearside assistant Steven Traynor wasn’t back in position after dealing with the substitution.
When Cooper fed the ball over this time substitute Paton was unmarked at the back post to make it 2-1 with his first touch of the ball. Vigurs was cautioned for complaining about the decision to allow the corner to be retaken before play resumed.
Once again, the sense of injustice seemed to fire-up our lads and as they mounted waves of attacks on the Queen of the South goal from then on.
We had another penalty shout ignored in the 74th minute, when substitute McAllister seemed to be fouled by Nditi as they competed for a Shay Logan cross.
Jamie Masson came on for the tiring Milne in the 77th minute and played a huge part in ensuring we ended the day still in the cup.
As did keeper home keeper McKenzie. He made a brilliant save from a Connolly shot, after the forward had broken clear in the 81st minute.
Queen’s defender Nditi was given his marching orders a minute later for an outrageous challenge on McAllister just inside our half, as the striker threatened to break clear.
Megginson almost equalised in the 85th minute with a well struck 18-yard shot that beat Brynn but sneaked inches wide of the keeper’s right post.
Brynn also made two top drawer saves inside the final two minutes. The first came when Masson latched on to a pass from Blair Yule and his shot from the edge of the area was going until Brynn pushed the ball wide.
The keeper’s next save was astonishing. McAllister laid the ball back into the path of Masson and his curling 16-yard shot was heading for the top corner until Brynn threw himself to his left and clawed the ball wide for a corner.
Our lads refused to give it up though and were rewarded with a second equaliser, a minute into injury-time. Masson was the creator, with a perfect pass through that McAllister blasted into the bottom corner from 16-yards for his 13th goal of the season to ensure we at least live to fight another day in the Scottish Cup.
Cove Rangers: McKenzie, Neill, Milne (Masson 77), Scully, Ross, Yule, Megginson, McIntosh (McAllister 66), Anderson (Logan 66), Vigurs, Fyvie.
Subs: Adeyemo, Gourlay.
Queen of the South: Brynn, Cooper, McKay, Cochrane, Roy (Paton 70), Connelly (Todd 81), McGrory, Nditi, Johnston, Gibson, Soares Jnr.
Subs: Rae, Joseph, McKechnie.
Referee: Scott Lambie.
QUEEN OF THE SOUTH REACTION
REACTION
Cove Rangers midfielder Iain Vigurs is delighted to have claimed his first goal for the club in our 2-2 draw with Queen of the South at Balmoral Stadium in the third round of the Scottish Cup.
Iain broke his duck with a stunning free-kick, just a minute after The Doonhamers had taken a first half lead.
“I was beginning to wonder if they (goals) had dried up for the rest of my career,” said Iain. “I was happy with the goal and it was obviously good to get one at long last, but the main thing is we didn’t lose the tie.”
Queen of the South regained the lead in the second half, but were pegged back again when Rory McAllister scored in the dying seconds to secure a replay at Palmerston Park a week today.
Iain said: “I felt we deserved to take something from the game, so it was pleasing to see Rory score late on. It took character to fight back as we did, but that’s something we have never lacked.
We will go to Dumfries confident we can now progress to the next round, but it will be another tough game.”
We face another testing cup tie tonight when we face Rangers B at Balmoral Stadium in the quarterfinals off the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Iain admitted he’s looking forward to facing up to the cream of the young talent coming through the Ibrox club’s youth system.
He said: “You can be guaranteed they will be very good technically and full of running and energy. They will also be well drilled on how they are expected to play - and will come here confident of getting the win they want.
It’s going to be a very testing night and we know we are going to have to be right at it from the first whistle. Let’s not forget they are doing well in the Lowland League as well, they are well aware of what it takes to compete against older, more experienced players.
They have got this far in the competition because of how good they are and it will be one of the toughest games we have faced this season.”
Iain helped Inverness Caley Thistle win this particular competition in 2018. The Highlanders beat Dumbarton 1-0 in the final - at Macdermid Park, Perth - after overcoming Aberdeen’s U20 side, Peterhead, Falkirk and Irish side Crusaders in the earlier rounds.
When asked if he thought Cove Rangers were capable of going all the way this term, Iain replied: “I don’t see why not? Any side can win a cup if they apply themselves properly, you are in to win it after all. We have this tie to deal with first, of course, but then who knows?
If you get to the semis of any competition you can’t help wondering if it’s going to be your year. We believe we are good enough to beat anyone if we are on our game.
The fact the winners tonight know they will be at home in the semis is a big incentive to both teams, there is a lot at stake.”
RORY MCALLISTER
MCALLISTER
As we welcome a young Rangers side to Balmoral Stadium tonight for our SPFL Trust Trophy quarter-final clash we decided it was the ideal opportunity to put the spotlight on Cove Rangers striker Rory McAllister.
The 34-year-old has faced the Light Blues on several occasions during the course of his career and is one of the few players still performing at SPFL level to have netted a winning goal at Ibrox.
The former Peterhead captain has also enjoyed some amazing highlights in this competition, particularly when it was previously sponsored by Petrofac.
They included facing up to Rangers in the 2016 final - in front of a capacity crowd at Hampden - and scoring all five goals for the Blue Toon in a famous away win over Falkirk that same season.
What are your thoughts about facing up to Rangers yet again this evening?
It’s their ‘B’ team, but we will be treating them as if we were up against the first team from Ibrox. We are at the business end of this competition, the opportunity to reach a semi-final is a huge incentive to both teams.
It would be a dream to be part of the first Cove Rangers squad to make it to the club’s first ever final at SPFL level. We are way short of that yet though and have a very difficult tie to come through if we want to remain in with a chance.
The Rangers players may well be younger than us, but they will also to be top class, among the best young talents in the country. They will be looking to make names for themselves - and to impress a new Rangers manager - so we better be ready for a very tough tie.
I’m sure there will be a decent crowd as well, with a lot of Rangers fans taking the opportunity to have a look at what’s coming through the ranks at Ibrox. We will need to turn up, that’s for sure. We will be approaching things as we have for every other game so far this season.
The manager will have us properly prepared and we will go out there and give our best in the hope that it will be enough to earn us a home semi-final, which is another big incentive for both sides tonight.
We lost 4-0 to Rangers at Ibrox last season in the Scottish Cup, do you see that match having any bearing on tonight’s meeting?
None whatsoever, every game is different, with different challenges to face.
Rangers were awesome last season, so we always knew it would be difficult to take anything off them, even more so in Glasgow.
I came on at half-time, when we were already 4-0 down, and spent my time chasing shadows.
It was tough going, but also good to get the opportunity to compete against what was the best side in the country last season.
Even though Rangers were expected to win, it still hurt because we are professionals and don’t like losing to anyone.
If we want to avoid losing again we will need to be professional and make sure we deliver the sort of team performance that has helped us do well in our league so far.
FINAL HIGHLIGHT:
The Rangers and Peterhead players line-up ahead of the Petrofac Challenge Cup final at Hampden in 2016.
Your visit to Ibrox, with Peterhead, in April 2013, was more memorable… what was it like to score the winning goal there?
Absolutely unbelievable. Rangers were playing in the Third Division as they came back up through the ranks at that time. The bonus for the rest of us in the division is we got to play in front of huge crowds when we faced them, 4,000 at Balmoor and more than 40,000 that day at Ibrox.
To actually score a winner there is one of the highlights of my career. We played really well in that game and deserved to win.
As for the goal, I remember the ball getting played to me, at the edge of their box, turning and whipping a shot past their goalie. When you watch it back you can see it was a really good team move.
As soon as the ball hit the net there was total silence - at a full Ibrox - apart from over in the wee corner occupied by the 500 Peterhead supporters.
Scott Ross scored the other goal for Peterhead that day. We aren’t slow to remind the lads at training that they should feel lucky to get to work alongside people who know what it’s like to score against Rangers at Ibrox!
It’s something both of us will be able to look back on with pride when our playing days are over.
GLORY MOMENT: Rory McAllister scores the winning goal at Ibrox for Peterhead.
You also faced Rangers in the final of this competition, in 2016, a game the light blues won 4-0. What do you recall about that day?
That it was an amazing achievement for everyone at Peterhead. The club benefitted from extra revenue but we also received a lot of positive coverage because we played really well right through the competition.
We were all delighted it ended with a special day at the national stadium for everyone associated with the club. The club took everyone to Glasgow that day and, even though we lost, we gave them a decent fight.
Walking out at a full Hampden is something every Scottish player dreams about doing. The organisers made sure it felt like a special occasion, it was like walking out for a Champions League final for a club like Peterhead. The final result looks pretty comfortable for Rangers, but it was a lot closer.
Their first goal was an unfortunate own goal and the second was an absolute screamer from James Tevernier. Scott Ross had a header cleared off their line when it was 2-0.
It would have been interesting to see what happened if that had gone in and put a bit more pressure on Rangers.
We had a few other half chances as well, so we came off the pitch with our heads held high. The positive spin-off for Peterhead is the cup run also helped us do well in the league that season.
Our confidence was flying and everyone was eager to maintain high standards to increase their chances of being picked to play in the final.
What do remember about that day you scored all five goals for Peterhead in that astonishing 5-3 victory away to Falkirk?
It was just one of those days when everything I tried just came off. It’s not the only time I scored five in a game, but Falkirk are full-time and were a Championship side then, so to score that amount away to them was special.
A lot of people tend to forget we were actually 2-0 down before we got going and it was a pretty special team display too. Even Jordon Brown passed to me for one of the goals, which was a rare thing! I claimed them all with my right foot, which was unusual.
The one thing that disappoints me is scoring all five overshadowed the fact I got one of the best goals of my career in that game. I deliberately chipped their keeper from close to the half-way line, it’s definitely one of the favourites of all the goals I have scored over the years.
The ball was played out from a goal-kick and when it dropped behind me I turned quickly and smacked a volley over the keeper into the net. Like I said, it was just one of those days when every touch I had was a good one.
This competition has been very good to me, but I’m hoping there will be a few more highlights still to come.
ON FIRE: Rory McAllister scoring one of the five goals he claimed in Peterhead’s 5-3 away win over Falkirk.
START PLAYING.
Rip-roaring power. Spellbinding control. Jaw-dropping accuracy. The new Mitre Delta Max SPFL. Prepare to mesmerise.
PAUL HARTLEY
I will begin by welcoming the coaching staffing and players of Rangers B to Balmoral Stadium for our meeting in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
We are up against a young Rangers side but that will have no bearing on how we approach what we know will be a very difficult tie for us. Our opponents are among the best young players in the country and they will be eager to impress at this late stage of the competition. Even more so with the prize for whoever wins being a home tie in the semi-finals.
As we do ahead of every game, we have done our homework on our opponents. They deservedly beat Alloa Athletic in the last round and are a team who play with lots of energy. It will take a top quality performance from us if we want to remain in the competition.
It’s good that we are going into this game on the back of a strong performance against Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup at the weekend. It took a late goal from Rory McAllister to earn us a 2-2 draw and a replay down in Dumfries. But defeat would have been extremely harsh on our players given how well we played throughout the 90 minutes.
HARTLEY
— View from the dugout
We played some excellent football, in tricky conditions, and their keeper had to make several outstanding saves to prevent us getting ahead in the tie.
We weren’t best pleased with the two goals scored by Queen of the South, their first certainly was never in, so should never have been given.
All credit to the players though. They dug deep into their reserves of character and determination to make sure we earned a second opportunity to claim a place in the next round of the Scottish Cup.
We will need plenty of those same qualities if we are to come through what will be another challenging cup tie tonight.
Stay safe and enjoy the game.
Paul Hartley
“All credit to the players though. They dug deep into their reserves of character and determination...”
MANAGEMENT
GOALKEEPERS
DEFENDERS
Paul Hartley
Gordon Young
Harry Milne
Ryan Strachan
Shay Logan Morgyn Neill
Scott Ross
Ritchie
Stuart McKenzie
Kyle Gourlay
Jevan Anderson
FORWARDS
MIDFIELDERS
To
Blair Yule
Jamie Masson
Fraser Fyvie
Connor Scully
Rory McAllister
Mitchel Megginson
Leighton McIntosh
Iain Vigurs
Robbie Leitch
— Season 2021/22 statistics
30/11/2021 Rangers B CC H 04/12/2021 Dumbarton SPFL1 H 12/11/2021 Falkirk SPFL1 A 18/12/2021 Alloa Athletic SPFL1 H 26/12/2021 East Fife SPFL1 H 02/01/2022 Peterhead SPFL1 A 08/01/2022 Clyde SPFL1 A 15/01/2022 Montrose SPFL1 H 29/01/2022 Dumbarton SPFL1 A 05/02/2022 Airdrieonians SPFL1 H 12/02/2022 Queen’s Park SPFL1 A 19/02/2022 Falkirk SPFL1 H 26/02/2022 Alloa Athletic SPFL1 A 05/03/2022 Peterhead SPFL1 H 12/03/2022 Clyde SPFL1 H 19/03/2022 Montrose SPFL1 A 26/03/2022 Airdrieonians SPFL1 A 02/04/2022 Queen’s Park SPFL1 H 09/04/2022 Falkirk SPFL1 A 16/04/2022 Alloa Athletic SPFL1 H 23/04/2022 Dumbarton SPFL1 H 30/04/2022 East Fife SPFL1 A
#CRFCLIVE
CAPTAIN’S WEIV
“Facing Rangers B in the SPFL Trust Trophy takes us into some very dangerous territory.”
We must ignore the fact we are going to be up against more youthful opponents than we would at league level.
These young Rangers players are among the very best emerging talents in the land, so they will provide us with a massive test as we bid to reach the last four of this competition for the first time in the history of Cove Rangers.
When I was a youth player at Aberdeen I used to relish the opportunity to test myself against what were termed as ‘older’ opponents. We got that chance in the likes of the Aberdeenshire Cup and Aberdeenshire Shield, against teams from the Highland League, including Cove Rangers.
We were always desperate to do well to show we had what was needed to maybe play at first team level in the future. I can guarantee you that’s exactly how the young Rangers players will be thinking tonight, even more so with a recently appointed new Rangers manager to impress as well.
Rangers B are also competing well in the Lowland League this season, so come here with plenty of experience of what it’s like to play against more experienced sides. They also earned the chance to face us with an excellent 3-2 win away to Alloa Athletic in the last round.
— Captain’s view
>>> When you take all of that into account, it’s obvious this is a night when only our best will do if we are to have any hope of staying in this competition.
The knowledge that the winners will be at home in the semi-finals is an extra incentive.
As I said, we would love to secure that and move closer to maybe taking Cove Rangers into a final for the first time since stepping up into the SPFL.
It’s a prize that will have to be earned, though.
Mitch Megginson
CYCR!
Scottish League 2 Winners: 2019-20
Highland League Winners: 2000-01, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13, 201516, 2017-18, 2018-19
Runners-up: 1989-90, 1992-93, 1994-95, 1995-96, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2016-17
Scottish Qualifying Cup (North) Winners: 1990-91, 2000-01
Runners-up: 1988-89, 1991-92, 2001-02, 2003-04
Highland League Cup Winners: 1994-95, 1999-2000, 2004-05, 2014-15, 2016-17, 2018-19
Runners-up: 1990-91, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1997-98, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2011-12
Aberdeenshire Cup Winners: 2001-02, 2010-11, 2018-19
Runners-up: 1992-93, 1994-95, 2016-17, 2017-18
Aberdeenshire Shield Winners: 1990-91, 2000-01, 2008-09, 2017-18
Runners-up: 1994-95, 2012-13, 2015-16
Aberdeenshire & District League Winners: 2000-01, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15
Runners-up: 2006-07
Aberdeenshire Centenery Cup Runners-up: 1986-87
Inter-League Trophy Winners: 2001-02
Cove Rangers FC
Manager - Paul Hartley
1. Stuart McKenzie
2. Morgyn Neill 3. Harry Milne
Connor Scully
Scott Ross 6. Ryan Strachan 8. Blair Yule 9. Mitchel Megginson (C) 10. Jamie Masson 11. Leighton McIntosh 13. Rory McAllister 14. Ross Draper 15. Jevan Anderson 16. Iain Vigurs
17. Ola Adeyemo
18. Finlay Robertson
19. Rhys Thomas
20. Robbie Leitch
21. Balint Demus
23. Kyle Gourlay
24. Fraser Fyvie
25. Shay Logan
Today’s referee - Mike Roncone
Rangers B FC
Manager - David McCallum & Brian Gilmour
Juan Alegria
Brandon Barker
Lewis Budinauckas
Aaron Cervantes
Adam Devine
Robbie Fraser
Jay Hogarth
Stephen Kelly
Leon King
Charlie Lindsay
Alex Lowry
Arron Lyall
Lewis Mackinnon
Charlie McCann
Ross McCausland
Kyle McClelland
Chris McKee
Cole McKinnon
Murray Miller
Kane Ritchie-Hosler
Tony Weston
Today’s assistant referees - Andy Milne, David Dunne
Team lines sponsor
