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Having picked up a point against Premiership opposition at the weekend, we make the short trip to take on Brechin City on Tuesday night knowing that a victory would make qualification from the group a genuine possibility.

The performance against Falkirk was outstanding and included a number of brilliant individual contributions, leaving Paul Hartley absolutely delighted with the boys:

“It was a really good display against a top-flight outfit, we stuck to our principles and our organisation was good. Overall, I was really pleased.

“It was a hard game, Falkirk are a very decent team, but I thought we coped with them. Robbie Mutch had to make some great saves, he was outstanding, but I thought to a man we were top class.”

Given the personnel available, the manager switched to a back three on Saturday, and he was impressed with how his team adapted:

“I threw a shape on them, but they coped with it really well, and that shows me they can do it, that I can look at different ways of playing. There’s such desire in the group too, and great spirit, and that will hopefully help us in the season ahead.”

This will be just a seventh meeting of the sides. Brechin won the first, a Challenge Cup tie in 2016 when we were still in the Highland League, but Cove have emerged victorious in the five games since, most recently a 3-2 success at Glebe Park in this competition two years ago.

It is a measure of the changes at the club since then that only four players from that afternoon – Arron Darge, Mitch Megginson, Balint Demus and Milosz Ochmanski – are still at Balmoral Stadium.

The gaffer is still in the process of rebuilding for 2025-26, but while he keeps working hard at getting new recruits in, he has his sights set on making history and getting out of the group for the first time:

“We’ve got a wee chance, but we have to face Brechin, we need to go there and win, and if we do, that’ll set us up nicely. For now, it’s full focus on Tuesday, it’ll be a hard game on a tight pitch, and they’ve got a strong squad, but we go with confidence.

“Four points and two clean sheets has been a good start, now we need to build on that.”

The game has come too early for Fraser Fyvie and Blair Yule, but David Eguaibor returns having completed his one-match ban.

Tickets for the match, a 7.45pm kick-off, can be purchased HERE

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