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The curtain falls on the first quarter of the League One campaign this weekend when we travel to Clackmannanshire to take on unbeaten Alloa, the hosts in second place in the table, behind Queen of the South only on goal difference.

In keeping with the league, most of Athletic’s games have been tight affairs, five of them ending in draws, most recently at Montrose last Saturday, and there is every reason to believe this one will be equally competitive.

Until last season Cove had a strong record against Alloa, unbeaten in the league meetings and having won at The Indodrill in the Scottish Cup three years ago, but 2023/24 was an entirely different matter as we lost all four, and the team will be keen to start putting that to rights this time round.

Paul Hartley expects another tough ninety minutes:

“We actually played alright in some of those games but lost poor goals. They were a bit of a bogey team for us, so that’s something we want to fix, but it’s a new season, and we need to have a positive mindset and the right attitude.”

In the wake of last week’s disappointment against Arbroath, the squad had what the manager says was a constructive meeting on Tuesday night, during which mistakes were highlighted, and ways to improve identified:

“It was a really worthwhile exercise, we went over the things we didn’t do well enough, and the players took that on board; they know they underperformed. The boys had their say, which is important, and we came out it with a clear understanding of where and how we can be better.”

SCULLY CHASING ANOTHER APPEARANCE RECORD

Midfielder Connor Scully goes into this one looking to emulate legendary goalkeeper Stuart McKenzie’s milestone of 67 successive starts, the record for the club since we joined the SPFL. Connor will match that if he is named in the starting eleven, as he has been for every competitive game since March of last year:

“It’s something I’m really proud of. Stu was a great team-mate and such a reliable keeper, our Mr Consistency, so to be up there with him is something special.”

Not since our meeting with Dundee on March 3^rd 2023 has Connor missed a game. He was out injured that day, but returned the following week to start the run. Staying fit has been key to the midfielder being so dependable:

“I don’t get injured that often, and I’m obviously a quick healer when I do, so that has helped. Another factor is that I have matured on the pitch, I’m more experienced. When I was younger, I was a bit of a hothead, and got too many yellow cards for dissent, but nowadays, most of the time, I know when to bite my tongue, so I haven’t had the suspensions I might have had in the past.”

Scully has missed only eight of our 213 league and cup matches in the SPFL era, but while he is proud of that record, he says Saturday is all about Cove getting the three points:

“We need to bounce back from last week when, as a unit, we just weren’t good enough. We have talked about what went wrong, and we need to go to Alloa with a different mentality, a strong mindset.”

“They were decent last season and made the playoffs, and have started well, so it will be tough, but we have to be ready for it.

“We all know the first quarter hasn’t been good enough, so we aim to finish that on a high, regroup, and do better in the second quarter.”

Nick Suman faces a few more weeks on the sidelines with his knee injury, while Declan Glass will also again be absent due to his foot problem.

Fans intending travelling down to support the team can get their tickets in advance HERE

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