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We renew rivalries with an old foe this weekend when the team makes the short trip up the coast to face Peterhead.

It will be our first meeting in three and a half years, and just a seventh in the league overall, but the previous games have been lively affairs with plenty talking points. Those matches were littered with penalties, there have been three red cards for Peterhead, and legendary goalkeeper Stuart McKenzie even got in on the act, scoring our late winner at Balmoor in January 2022.

Cove have won all six of the previous League One encounters, keeping five clean sheets along the way, and that’s exactly what Paul Hartley is hoping for on Saturday:

“We know we need to do things better than we have been of late, we have to make sure we’re tighter at the back. It’s all about getting the formation nailed down, cutting out the individual mistakes, and defending as we need to; the players know that, it’s their job, and I hope to see a big improvement at Peterhead.

“It will be a hard game, they’ve got a very good home record and they’ve still got the momentum from last year. I know how important that can be. The two former players from here – Jordon Brown and Ryan Strachan – have done a good job, young guys starting out on their managerial careers, and they’ll be on a high after an impressive eighteen months, but we know what’s expected of us, and that’s to get the three points.”

The manager will also be hoping for a somewhat calmer afternoon from the 3-3 draw with Montrose:

“It was exhausting! We should have managed the game better and seen it out, we know that, but on the plus side we were very good going forward, created plenty chances, and I want more of that from my team.

“I was delighted for David Eguaibor who was deservedly recognised by the SPFL (star man in the team of the week) after his hat-trick. I’d been doing some one-on-one work with him, we looked at videos and I highlighted his good play as well as the chances he had been missing, and I asked him to focus on being more composed in the box. It certainly worked, and I hope he can produce that again at Balmoor.”

More than anything, Paul is just hoping to get that first league win on the board:

“That would be nice! You look at the results last week, some surprising ones, but I always say the first quarter is the maddest one as teams try to bed in, and you do get some eye-opening scores. What we need to do is settle down, get a rhythm going, and kick-on from there.”

Fraser Fyvie is out long-term and fellow midfielder Arron Darge will also be missing after taking a knock last weekend. A late decision will be made on the fitness of Declan Glass.

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