Cove Rangers 0 - 1 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, October 15th, 2022, 3:00 PM at Balmoral Stadium, Aberdeen
Attendance: 1,071
Referee: Graham Grainger
Cove Rangers Inverness CT

Goalscorers
None. Steven Boyd (19)

Team Managers
Jim McIntyre Billy Dodds

Starting Eleven
Kyle Gourlay
Max Johnston
Jack Sanders
Mark Reynolds
Shay Logan
Charlie Gilmour
Luis Longstaff
Blair Yule
Connor Scully
Cieran Dunne
Mitch Megginson
Mark Ridgers
Robbie Deas
Zak Delaney
Wallace Duffy
Cameron Harper
Scott Allardice
Roddy MacGregor
David Carson
Daniel Mackay
Steven Boyd
Billy Mckay

Bench
Stuart McKenzie
Evan Towler
Scott Ross
Morgyn Neill
Gerry McDonagh
Leighton McIntosh
Iain Vigurs
Robbie Leitch
Cameron Mackay
Max Ram
Lewis Hyde
Aaron Doran
Nathan Shaw
George Oakley

Substitutions
Leighton McIntosh -> Cieran Dunne (45)
Robbie Leitch -> Luis Longstaff (79)
Gerry McDonagh -> Charlie Gilmour (79)
Aaron Doran for Roddy MacGregor (22)
Lewis Hyde for Scott Allardice (46)
George Oakley for Billy Mckay (76)
Nathan Shaw for Steven Boyd (79)

Bookings
Max Johnston (42)
Jack Sanders (74)
Gerry McDonagh (90)
Steven Boyd (34)
Aaron Doran (55)
Robbie Deas (66)
George Oakley (89)
Cameron Harper (92)

Red Cards
Leighton McIntosh (91) None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 210 apps -
Zak Delaney 15 apps -
Wallace Duffy 50 apps2 goals
Cameron Harper 91 apps7 goals
Robbie Deas 97 apps1 goal
Scott Allardice 80 apps4 goals
Roddy MacGregor 99 apps6 goals
David Carson 109 apps1 goal
Billy Mckay 216 apps86 goals
Steven Boyd 15 apps1 goal
Daniel Mackay 73 apps13 goals
Aaron Doran (sub) 343 apps51 goals
Lewis Hyde (sub) 24 apps -
George Oakley (sub) 76 apps21 goals
Nathan Shaw (sub) 15 apps2 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Zak Delaney (20 years 283 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 1 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 319 days
Domestic Players:8 (72.73 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Lewis Hyde (20 years 97 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 1 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 234 days
Domestic Players:10 (58.82 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Wallace Duffy played his 50th major competitive game for the Club.
Steven Boyd scored his first goal for the Club.

Cove kept at Bay: Our first visit to Balmoral Park on League business ended with a hard fought win, our fifth on the bounce. Inverness opened the scoring after twenty minutes through Steven Boyd, his first of the season. However Roddy MacGregor was helped off the pitch after being injured in the build up to that goal. Allardice stayed in the dressing room at the interval to be replaced by Lewis Hyde. Ridgers did well to deny Cove after the break and right at the end Cove were reduced to ten men as McIntosh was sent off. Still joint top as Partick also win with Dundee and Morton leading the chasing pack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Billy Dodds named an unchanged side from the one that beat Partick Thistle last Friday. Roddy MacGregor would make his 99th appearance fot the Caley Jags, but that would be cut short, and Billy Mckay would be looking for his 86th goal since he first played for Inverness back in 2011. Jim McIntyre had Iain Vigurs on the bench. In a previous life Vigurs had scored 24 goals in 147 appearances for the Caley Jags.

Inverness got the game underway in their Kingsmills strip on a bright afternoon in Cove. Within five minutes the two Mckays had efforts wide of the Cove goal, Billy going closer than Daniel. A warning for the visitors in the tenth minute when Megginson headed into the net but was adjudged to be offside. Cove were monopolising the early pressure though and Cieran Dunne went close with a shot from outside the box.

However, it was the visitors that drew first blood from a less familiar name when Steven Boyd slotted home after great work by Billy Mckay. Unfortunately during the build up to the goal Roddy MacGregor was injured and had to be helped from the field with what looks like a nasty injury to be replaced by Aaron Doran. Five minutes before the interval Doran combined with Harper but his shot was too high and went over the bar.

HALF TIME 0-1

Lewis Hyde replaced Scott Allardice at the interval and Cove replaced Dunne with Leighton McIntosh.

Early corners for Cove at the start of the second half came to nothing and Boyd forced Kyle Gourlay into making a save to deny him from outside the box. Cove responded through dangerman Megginson but Mark Ridgers was equal to it to deny the striker from inside the box with a crucial save. Cove had their tails up and Ridgers then had to look lively to keep out a header from Jack Sanders. Play was opening out though and Dan Mackay saw a shot blocked at the other end.

After the hour Connor Scully headed goalwards but Ridgers denied him with another save. Into the final ten minutes and substitute Gerry McDonagh was next to test Ridgers from six yards as Cove upped the pressure in search of an equaliser.

Nathan Shaw had an effort saved by Gourlay as the clock ticked down after Doran fed him through on goal.

Right at the death Leighton McIntosh was red-carded for violent conduct as Cove finished with ten men.

FULL TIME: 0-1

Mark Ridgers was in tremendous form to keep Cove at bay and well done to Steven Boyd for opening his account with the all important goal. Cove fans were not happy about the offside decision.

Downside of this game, which was a brutal contest, is more injuries to contend with which will likely see Allardice and MacGregore miss the Hamilton game in midweek.

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Partick Thistle 10 6 2 2 23 13 10 20
2. Inverness CT 10 6 2 2 14 9 5 20
3. Ayr United 10 5 2 3 20 13 7 17
4. Dundee 11 5 2 4 19 16 3 17
5. Morton 11 5 2 4 15 13 2 17
6. Queens Park 11 5 2 4 15 19 -4 17
7. Raith Rovers 10 4 0 6 11 12 -1 12
8. Cove Rangers 11 3 2 6 14 18 -4 11
9. Arbroath 10 1 4 5 7 14 -7 7
10. Hamilton Academical 10 1 4 5 8 19 -11 7