Inverness CT 1 - 4 Cove Rangers

League - League 1
Saturday, December 28th, 2024, 3:00 PM at Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 1,974
Referee: Iain Snedden
Inverness CT  Cove Rangers

Goalscorers
Remi Savage (37)
Declan Glass (5)
Mitch Megginson (18)
Arron Darge (49)
Adam Emslie (92)

Team Managers
Scott Kellacher Paul Hartley

Starting Eleven
Musa Dibaga
Remi Savage
Matthew Strachan
Daniel Devine
Keith Bray
Charlie Gilmour
Paul Allan
Adam Mackinnon
James Nolan
Luis Longstaff
Billy Mckay
Nicholas Suman
Michael Doyle
Connor Scully
Ryan Harrington
Mitchel Megginson
Declan glass
Arron Darge
Findlay Marshall
Dylan Lobban
Adam Emslie
Fraser Fyvie

Substitutes
Corey Paterson
Sam Thompson
Lee Walker
Ben Gardiner
Calum MacKay
Calum MacLeod
Robbie Thompson
Ethan Cairns
Balint Demus
Finlay Murray
Grady McGrath
Reuben McAllister
Myles Gaffney

Substitutions
Ethan Cairns for Matthew Strachan (46)
Robbie Thompson for James Nolan (85)
Myles Gaffney -> Mitch Megginson (81)

Bookings
Daniel Devine (65)
Ryan Harrington (81)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Musa Dibaga (GK) 18 apps -
Remi Savage 42 apps2 goals
Matthew Strachan 21 apps -
Daniel Devine 236 apps10 goals
Keith Bray 29 apps2 goals
Charlie Gilmour 54 apps5 goals
Paul Allan 16 apps3 goals
Adam Mackinnon 21 apps3 goals
James Nolan 17 apps1 goal
Billy Mckay 318 apps113 goals
Luis Longstaff 56 apps4 goals
Robbie Thompson (sub) 27 apps -
Ethan Cairns (sub) 11 apps1 goal

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Keith Bray (18 years 276 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (36 years 76 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 78 days
Domestic Players:5 (45.45 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Keith Bray (18 years 276 days)
Oldest Player:Sam Thompson (2026 years 155 days)
Average Player Age:23 years 16 days
Domestic Players:13 (68.42 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Big Loss to Round off a Miserable 2024



Last game of Annus Horribilis had Cove Rangers as visitors to the Highlands on a damp but mild afternoon at the Caledonian Stadium. Robbie Thompson returned to the squad after suspension. Charlie Reilly and Jake Davidson were the main players missing. Paul Hartley in his 200th game in charge of Cove covering two spells was without Will Gillingham, Liam Parker and Blair Yule but Mitch Megginson returned after injury and Findlay Marshall and Declan Glass also started. This fourth meeting of the season between the clubs ended in a disappointing defeat. Declan Glass had opened the scoring in just five minutes after Dibaga had knocked away shots from Megginson and Emslie. Megginson helped himself to number two after a corner. Remi Savage halved the deficit before the interval. Arron Darge headed Cove two ahead just after the interval, his second in two games. A late Emslie strike was the icing on the cake for Cove. Too little too late despite a late flurry from the hosts made all the more disappointing with the news that Dumbarton won whilst our goal difference took a hammering and Annan picked up a point.

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

An early setback for the hosts in the fifth minute when Glass scored on the rebound after Megginson's shot then Adam Emslie's shot broke to him from Dibaga. Glass had a second effort saved by the keeper a few minutes later as Cove dominated the early exchanges. James Nolan fired over before Megginson forced Dibaga into action again winning a corner. From that corner Megginson added a second goal heading in from the corner of the six yard box, his eighth strike in the League campaign. An uphill struggle after only twenty minutes with Cove dominating proceedings and Inverness unable to create anything of note. Out of the blue, we scrambled a goal back through Remi Savage following a Paul Allan free kick. Just what we needed to kick-start our afternoon. However, the ever dangerous Megginson was denied by Dibaga a couple of minutes later some five minutes before the break. The hosts were trying to salvage their poor first forty-five and Billy Mckay had an effort saved by Nick Suman as possession almost levelled out after Cove's blistering start but Dibaga had been the busier of the two keepers in a disappointing half for the home fans.

HALF TIME: 1-2

Ethan Cairns replaced Mathew Strachan at the interval but we fell further behind minutes after the restart when Darge headed home following a free kick. Mckay was denied two minutes later from close range from Luis Longstaff's free kick. Suman saved from Cairns, tipping over the bar after an hour and Connor Scully shot just wide from a free kick with Danny Devine being booked for his troubles. Allan missed the target as Inverness looked to get a lifeline with twenty minutes left. Cove still looked more dangerous and Glass saw an effort saved by Dibaga after being put through by Megginson. Into the final ten minutes and Inverness were finding it difficult to break Cove down and create anything meaningful whilst Darge fancied another but headed off target. Keith Bray saw his shot saved by the keeper from distance and substitute Robbie Thompson headed wide. Adam Emslie rounded off the scoring as we chased a late consolation, slotting in from the edge of the box in some style.

FULL TIME: 1-4

Match report written by tm4tj



None.

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Arbroath 19 10 4 5 30 20 10 34
2. Stenhousemuir 19 9 3 7 28 19 9 30
3. Kelty Hearts 19 8 5 6 28 19 9 29
4. Cove Rangers 19 8 4 7 30 24 6 28
5. Alloa Athletic 19 6 7 6 23 21 2 25
6. Montrose 19 6 5 8 19 21 -2 23
7. Queen of the South 18 6 4 8 16 21 -5 22
8. Annan Athletic 19 5 4 10 17 33 -16 19
9. Inverness CT 18 6 7 5 17 20 -3 10
10. Dumbarton 19 5 7 7 26 36 -10 7