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COVE RANGERS 3-3 MONTROSE

David Eguaibor was the hat-trick hero as the team secured its first point of the League One season, but with Montrose having played three-quarters of the game with ten men, it should really have been all three.

The visitors snatched an early lead, only for David to bundle home the leveller soon after. With Bertie having been sent-off, Cove put the pressure on, and Eguaibor snatched his second just before the interval.

Arron Darge hit the post after the restart, but Sandilands equalised with a bizarre free-kick and Loudon put the visitors in front when he completed his double. We pressed to salvage something from the match, coming close on a number of occasions, and eventually did so in the fourth minute of stoppage time, the striker claiming his treble with a towering header.

With Fraser Fyvie out for the foreseeable future, the manager had made four changes from the midweek cup-tie. There was welcome news with the return from injury, earlier than anticipated, of Declan Glass, and Mitch Megginson and Blair Yule were also back in the starting line-up. Robbie Mutch reclaimed the goalkeeper’s position from Balint Demus.

Mackenzie Strachan, Milosz Ochmanski and a trialist also dropped out, while Jackson Mylchreest, who joined yesterday as part of our new Cooperation Agreement with St Johnstone, was on the bench.

On a glorious, sunny afternoon Glass got the game underway, but it was the visitors who snatched an early lead when a poor ball out of defence was snapped up by Ewan LOUDON and the striker fired home from the edge of the box.

Their advantage did not last long. A Ryan Harrington cross from the left evaded everyone in the area, but Layton Bisland gathered it and found Declan Glass. After a neat turn, the midfielder lifted the ball to the back post where David EGUAIBOR was alert enough to bundle it beyond Gill and into the net.

Always a hard-fought fixture, both sides were making some no-nonsense challenges, and Montrose were reduced to ten men midway through the half when Keir Bertie put in a strong tackle on Bisland. Referee Nicolson immediately brandished the red card; it looked a harsh decision.

The match was stop-start thereafter, various players requiring treatment, and the official constantly having to address incidents across the park. We might have edged in front with half an hour played, Megginson lifting a pass through for Eguaibor to race clear, but as he attempted to finish, Gill dived to snatch the ball at his feet.

Ryan Harrington had a couple of efforts, shooting over on both occasions, and Mitch Megginson shot wide after good link-up between Darge, Bisland and Glass, but we did finally break through in the forty-second minute. Harrington crossed from the left, Megginson teed-up Darge, and when his volley was half-blocked, David EGUAIBOR pounced. Gill saved his first shot, but the striker was quick to react and poked home the rebound.

It might have been three immediately after the restart.

Smith fouled Eguaibor on halfway, but the striker still managed to flick the ball on, and Arron Darge sped away from the trailing Montrose back line. With the keeper advancing, the midfielder let fly, but his well-struck effort crashed off the right post.

We were playing some attractive football at this stage, the visitors defending desperately, and when Darge got to the bye-line and crossed for Glass the third goal looked a certainty, only for Waddell got back to clear with the ball netbound.

Within minutes, Montrose were level, and again it was a poor goal to concede. From a free-kick wide on the left, Callum SANDILANDS sent in a low delivery which somehow trundled across the area and inside the far post.

The boys struggled to get anything going after that, and more slack defending allowed Ewan LOUDON to wriggle free to finish with a low angled strike.

We might have had a penalty soon after when Smith appeared to clip David Eguaibor, but the ref waved play on, and Montrose should have killed the game when Loudon broke and played in Craig Wighton, but the substitute shot weakly, and Robbie Mutch dived to save.

Jackson Mylchreest was on by then, and he came close to equalising in our next attack after Doyle and Megginson had combined to set him up, but his shot was diverted over the bar by Waddell.

As the game moved into stoppage time Ryan Harrington crossed for Mitch Megginson and the striker managed to get his shot in, but Gill threw himself to his left to make a superb one-handed save.

It felt as if that would be it for the team, but Declan Glass found a yard of space and his delivery was inch-perfect for David EGUAIBOR whose powerful header flashed past the despairing keeper to earn a much-needed point.

In doing so, David became just the fourth Cove player – after Mitch Megginson, Rory McAllister and Rumarn Burrell – to score an SPFL league hat-trick.

It was an exciting and dramatic conclusion, and at least got us off the mark, but overall it was a disappointing defensive display, something will the manager said afterwards will have to quickly rectified and improved upon.

COVE RANGERS: (3-5-2) Mutch; Doyle (c), J. Eguaibor (Mylchreest 59), Parker; Bisland, Yule, Darge (Strachan 73), Glass, Harrington; Megginson, D. Eguaibor

Substitutes: Demus, Ochmanski, Donaldson, Milnes

Scorers: D. Eguaibor (8), (42), (90)

Bookings: Yule (55), D. Eguaibor (59), Bisland (64), Mylchreest (86)

MONTROSE: (3-5-2) Gill; Waddell, Smith (Quinn 88), Steeves (c); Freeman, Clark (Brown 72), Masson (Tidser 84), Sandilands, Bertie; Lyons (Wighton 72), Loudon (Shrive 84)

Substitutes: Millar, Craig, McClements, Machado

Scorers: Loudon (4), (67), Sandilands (56)

Bookings: Smith (47)

Sending-off: Bertie (21)

Referee: Duncan Nicolson

Attendance: 431

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