Cove Rangers 3 - 2 Formartine United

(After extra time)
Aberdeenshire Shield - 2nd Round
Wednesday, December 20th, 2017, 8:00 PM at North Lodge Park, Pitmedden
Attendance: 125
Referee: Mat Northcroft
Cove Rangers v Formartine United, Dec 20th 2017, North Lodge Park, Pitmedden
Cove Rangers Formartine United 

Goalscorers
Ryan Stott (37)
Mitch Megginson (75)
Paul McManus (115)
Graeme Rodger (26)
Stuart Smith (90)

Team Managers
John Sheran Paul Lawson

Starting Eleven
Stuart McKenzie
Alan Redford
Harry Milne
Ryan Strachan
Scott Ross
Darryn Kelly
Connor Scully
Grant Campbell
Mitch Megginson
Ryan Stott
Dean Lawrie
Ewen MacDonald
Jevan Anderson
Craig McKeown
Johnny Crawford
Stuart Smith
Wayne Mackintosh
Stuart Anderson
Graeme Rodger
Archie MacPhee
Scott Barbour
Garry Wood

Bench
Nick Gray
Paul McManus
Sam Burnett
John McCafferty
Greg Sim
Jamie Michie
Calum Dingwall
Andrew Greig
Paul Lawson
Scott Ferries
Conor Gethins

Substitutions
Nick Gray for Connor Scully (67)
Sam Burnett for Harry Milne (96)
Paul McManus for Alan Redford (100)
Andrew Greig for Archie MacPhee (64)
Scott Ferries for Scott Barbour (77)
Conor Gethins for Jevan Anderson (82)

Bookings
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.

Appearances & Goals To Date
Ewen MacDonald (GK) 48 apps -
Jevan Anderson 18 apps -
Craig McKeown 75 apps15 goals
Johnny Crawford 81 apps5 goals
Stuart Smith 179 apps16 goals
Wayne Mackintosh 20 apps3 goals
Stuart Anderson 157 apps28 goals
Graeme Rodger 119 apps36 goals
Archie MacPhee 27 apps22 goals
Scott Barbour 113 apps50 goals
Garry Wood 89 apps48 goals
Andrew Greig (sub) 4 apps1 goal
Scott Ferries (sub) 54 apps6 goals
Conor Gethins (sub) 52 apps18 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Jevan Anderson (17 years 296 days)
Oldest Player:Craig McKeown (32 years 287 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 12 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Jevan Anderson (17 years 296 days)
Oldest Player:Conor Gethins (34 years 58 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 135 days
Domestic Players:17 (94.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

This Aberdeenshire Shield Tie was initially drawn as a home fixture for Cove who, currently homeless but lodging with Inverurie Locos voluntarily conceded ground rights for this game, leaving Formartine in all senses (i.e. occupying home dressing room etc) the home side. Games between these two are always fiercely competitive affairs and usually the slightly more street savvy toonsers find a way to some sort of victory over their rural rivals. However last time they met, little over a month ago it was United who prevailed and in so doing, took the prestigious Aberdeenshire Cup.

United tactics that day were largely based on digging in deeply at the back and hitting Cove on the break and for most of this game it seemed that they were out to repeat the process. Cove set out their stall in what looked (most of the time) to be a 4-3-3 formation and United were arrayed in two banks of four with MacPhee and Wood up top. Missing from the Cove line up were captain Eric Watson and ex United forward, Daniel Park and Formartine called in Jevan Anderson as replacement for the injured Scott Henry.

From early on it was clear that United were looking to repeat the build from the back/defend in depth to hit on the break strategy and their commitment to the counter punchers role – effectively playing Cove at their own game was shown in the absence of their normal opening flurries of all out attack. As a result Cove showed early dominance in terms of both territory and possession. The game was played mostly in Formartines half of the field. Cove were however continually thwarted in getting the ball into the Formartine box. The back four of Crawford, Smith, Jevan Anderson and McKeown were regularly supplemented by the addition Stuart Anderson, Mackintosh, Rodger and a bit less often by either or both MacPhee and Barbour. It made for absorbing stuff because when United broke they did so with pace and precision and exposed gaps in the visiting rearguard in the process. They looked, despite their defensive posture, just as likely as the visitors to score.

The spearhead of the Cove attack was Megginson, quick, slippery and deadly in front of goal. However, the attentions of McKeown were such that he was seldom given the sight of goal without the lurking presence of the big centre back in front of him. When he tried his hand from the wider areas to either side, he found Crawford very quick to tackle and Smith a master of jockeying into places he did not want to go. Stuart Anderson was also adept at intercepting the supply to him. As a result he managed a couple of longer range efforts both off target and one low trundler from about 15 yards that MacDonald gathered comfortably. But Cove are not Champions and League leaders for nothing and they had other weaponry. Stott and Lawrie linked well without getting into the United box as often as they would have liked and like Megginson were generally confined to longer range efforts. One from Lawrie, in the 18th minute brought a smart diving save from MacDonald to push the ball round his left upright for an unrewarded corner.

At the other end, Barbour either intentionally or because of the attentions of Redford was confined more to the role of a traditional left winger than usual but managed a couple of times to work his way into the left side of the penalty area. After 20 minutes or so it was clear that when United did break it was done with the intention of making and sustaining pressure and as the half progressed their breaks regularly took the form of Wood holding up the ball for support in numbers to flood forward.

In the 26th minute the United strategy paid off. Stuart Anderson, twisting and turning in the middle of his own half shrugged off the attentions of Kelly and delivered a perfectly measured pass to MacPhee about twenty yards ahead and to his right. The break was on. Wood running hard from centre forward to inside right channel was enough of a decoy to pull Ross and Strachan towards him while MacPhee passed the ball in the other direction to meet the run of RODGER through the centre channel that Wood had vacated.The midfielder took the ball in his stride advanced a yard or two into the box and slammed the ball hard and low past the keepers left hand into the net.

Cove were stung by this 27th minute reverse and looking for instant retaliation immediately had United back in their own back yards and defending again in depth but this time their breakaways were fewer and further between. Cove were coming to get them and United were holding on, just. Lack of communication between MacDonald and Crawford resulted in both of them going for a high ball at the near post tangling with each other as the ball ran momentarily free before Jevan Anderson booted it clear. Shots were raining in on goal and MacDonald made a couple of decent saves but by and large the shots were off target. The pressure, though was very intense and it was no surprise when Cove levelled in the 37th minute. United had just cleared a corner out to near half way before the ball was worked quickly down the left flank to and by Lawrie who made himself enough space to get in a decent cross to STOTT who got just ahead of the keeper to head in at the near post. Cove maintained pressure and United resisted grimly but successfully and in the very last minute of the period made another threatening break up the park with MacPhee feeding Wood who held off both Milne and Lawrie to get in a decent shot from about 15 yards. Keeper McKenzie stood his ground and made the save.

The second half was more evenly balanced and initially had an end to end flavour to it. The pace was fast and frequently furious and tackles not quite of the video nasty level were not however for the faint hearted. Referee Northcroft kept a good grip on it all though. United made a few early chances with a Rodger ball across the goal face eluding by centimetres only the reach of both Mackintosh and Wood. Minutes later Mackintosh had clear sight of goal from 18 yards out but drove the ball wide of the right post. It looked like United might just sneak it. They looked to have just a bit more fire power than Cove but Cove were pretty adept at stopping United breaks near the half way line. In the 75th minute 0n the back of a period of United pressure they took the lead with a pretty simple rather route one kind of goal when a long ball was played out of defence and up to Megginson who got away from defenders while the ball was on its way, collected it about 35 yards out ran on and rattled it home from near the edge of the area for 2-1.

United were now chasing the game and withdrew Jevan Anderson in favour of Gethins to leave three at the back and pretty well three up front. They used their full sub allowance with Greig and Ferries replacing MacPhee and Barbour respectively. They really ramped up the pressure. Gethins got the slightest of contacts on a cross from Ferries but not enough to deflect it into the net and Mackintosh fired wide from about 5 yards, but gloriously and dramitically with 4 minutes of stoppage time played, in an absolute stramash in the goalmouth, Stuart Smith somehow managed to force the ball over the line from uber close range.

Extra time was played at the same breakneck pace as normal time and in the 116th minute Cove sub MacMANUS, against the run of play, got himself enough space on the edge of the box to break clear and bang the ball past MacDonald to progress to the next round. United refused to lie down and threw everything back into attack again forcing Cove well onto the back foot, but they just held on for as narrow a victory as they have had in many a long day.

Match report by Colin Keenan