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We welcome regular visitors to Balmoral Stadium on Tuesday evening as Livingston make the trip north for the third year in a row in the group stages of the Premier Sports Cup.

In 2022, Iain Vigurs gave us a half-time lead only for Livi to net twice after the interval, and they also took the points twelve months ago when, despite a strong showing from the team, the then Premiership outfit scored late goals to record a convincing victory.

The Almondvale side were relegated to the Championship at the end of last season, but have made a good start to this campaign, having recorded wins over Forfar and Dunfermline without conceding a goal.

They will be seen as favourites for this one too, but Paul Hartley says his team go into the encounter in better spirits after a much-improved showing against Forfar at the weekend:

“It was good! That was much more like what I expect from a Cove Rangers side, we played a lot of good stuff, and we just weren’t clinical enough in the final third after creating plenty chances.

“I was really pleased with some of our work though, we controlled the majority of the game, defensively we were fine, and we handled them well; we knew they would be dangerous at set plays, and we dealt with that.

“The attitude was good after the Spartans game, I expected that. We still have a bit to do in terms of our fitness, but that’s just down to where we are in the early part of the season, and that will come.”

Pleased with the overall showing, the manager was also delighted with some of the individual performances too:

“I thought young Finlay Murray was excellent, coming in for his debut and making the most of his chance after Will Gillingham had to pull out injured, and I thought the back three overall did a good job. Across the side there was quality and we saw glimpses of what Declan Glass brings to the team.”

The one area of concern right now is in the forward line, but Paul is aware of that, and believes that will improve:

“The sharpness at the top end of the pitch will come, we’re not quite there yet, we’re still a bit short, but we’ve got Mitch Megginson to come back, and Grady McGrath is just finding his feet at this level.

“I’m still looking to add to the squad, maybe four or five players, and if we can get them in, we will be in a much better place. It’s all about making sure we are ready for the Annan game, the kick-off to the league campaign, and I would hope to have the group in place for that one.

“For now, the aim is to get a strong, positive finish to this competition and make sure we have a bit of momentum going forward.”

The game against Livingston is a 7.45pm kick-off and supporters can secure their tickets in advance at this LINK

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