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Our penultimate pre-season friendly ended all-square, Cove levelling shortly before half-time after the visitors had snatched the lead minutes earlier.

Over the piece, it was a game lacking in sustained quality, both sides making sweeping changes as they continued their build-up to the more serious action ahead.

Paul Hartley had begun the match with a 4-4-2 formation which included seven trialists, albeit one of those was goalkeeper Nick Suman who signed with the club last week, but had yet to receive international clearance following his move from Australia.

Gillingham, Scully, Megginson and Burrell made up the starting eleven.

Three other players who have penned full-time deals – Balint Demus, Sena and Arron Darge – also had to be listed as trialists on the bench as the club awaits the completion of paperwork from the Scottish FA.

After an even start, Cove should have taken the lead in the twelfth minute. Trialist N, playing wide right, sent in an inch-perfect cross but skipper Mitch Megginson could only head over when in the clear at the back post.

Peterhead were then twice foiled by Suman, their co-managers, Jordon Brown and Ryan Strachan both being denied in the space of sixty seconds. First, the big keeper dived to his right to push away Brown’s long range strike, then from the resultant corner he tipped Strachan’s angled effort over the bar.

The visitors did take the lead ten minutes before the interval when trialist Efe Ambrose, under pressure, failed to deal with a bouncing ball in the box and Kieran SHANKS fired home from close range.

We equalised in the 43rd minute after good work down the left involving Connor Scully and two trialists. The ball was fed into the box, Megginson gathered and laid it off, and TRIALIST N cleverly curled a delightful effort round two defenders and just inside the far post.

The manager made nine changes at the break with only Trialist K, playing wide left, and Mitch Megginson remaining on the park.

Demus, Naismith, Reynolds, Darge, Sena, Vigurs and Fyvie were all introduced along with two more trialists.

Peterhead spurned two big opportunities to retake the lead early in the half with Shanks heading against the underside of the bar from close range and Jordon Brown firing wide after finding himself unmarked eighteen yards out.

We came closest to scoring ten minutes from the end when Iain Vigurs unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box, only to be denied by the visitors’ substitute keeper Blessing Oluyemi who pulled off a fine save.

The team has one more pre-season warm-up match to go, Dundee the visitors to Balmoral Stadium this Saturday, July 15th. Tickets can be bought at the Cove Rangers FC website.

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