Cove Rangers F.C.

Cove Rangers
Full name Cove Rangers Football Club
Nickname(s) The Wee Rangers
The Toonsers
Founded 1922 (1922)
Ground Balmoral Stadium, Cove, Aberdeen
Capacity 2,602
Chairman Keith Moorhouse
Manager John Sheran
League Highland League
2017–18 Highland League, 1st of 18 (champions)

Cove Rangers Football Club are a senior Scottish football club currently playing in the Highland Football League. They are based in Cove Bay, a suburb of Aberdeen and are set to play their football at Balmoral Stadium, having left their former home at Allan Park in April 2015.

History

Cove were formed in 1922 and played in the local amateur leagues until 1985, when they became a junior team. However, the club applied and were accepted to the senior Highland Football League in 1986, where they have played ever since. They have also racked up a formidable reputation in the lower rounds of the Scottish Cup, reaching the 3rd round three times. In 2001 they won their first Highland League championship – but even more impressively won the 'treble' of Highland League, Aberdeenshire Shield and Scottish Qualifying Cup.

In the 2007–08 season, Cove reached round four of the Scottish Cup for the first time, beating Brora Rangers away 5–0, Keith 3–0 and Edinburgh University 1–0 on the way, before losing 4–2 to Ross County.

However, that did not deter the south Aberdeen side from claiming their second ever Highland League Championship with a 3–0 home win against Lossiemouth on 3 May 2008.

Cove Rangers were one of the clubs preparing an application for entry into the Scottish Football League following Gretna relinquishing their league status on 3 June 2008. The other clubs were Annan Athletic, Preston Athletic and Spartans.[1] Annan Athletic were eventually awarded the place, due to their superior facilities.

The club have started plans for a new stadium in preparation for a possible place in Scottish League Two.

In 2016 the club regained their Highland League crown in one of the greatest teams achievements in recent memory. Due to the introduction of the 'pyramid system', Cove were forced to say goodbye to their Allan Park home due to the stadium not meeting SPFL minimum stadia requirements. This in turn meant the club played all of their games at an away ground with Inverurie Locos, Formartine United and Banks O'Dee sportingly offering the use of their facilities so the club could compete. Despite this Cove went on to win the league and advance to the first play-off game against the winner of the Lowland League, Edinburgh City. The tie was won by City 4–1 on aggregate and progressed to Scottish League Two after beating East Stirlingshire in the second playoff tie.

One of the club's most famous players is the young Scottish midfielder Paul Coutts who joined English League One club Peterborough United during the summer of 2008 for a nominal fee. Coutts won the clubs's Young Player of the Year award for the 2008–09 season [2] and won eight caps for the Scotland under-21 squad, after being touting for a call up by his former manager Darren Ferguson.[3]

Stadium

Allan Park was a football ground located in Cove, a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was the home to Highland Football League club Cove Rangers. The ground had a capacity of 2300 spectators, with 200 on seats or benches. Its largest attendance was 2,100, in the league playoff 2008–09 vs Deveronvale which they won 3-1 to lift the league title for the third year running.

Allan Park was named after a local farmer, who sold the club the land on which they built the ground in 1948.[4]

In September 2011, Cove Rangers were planning to sell Allan Park for housing and share in part of the New Aberdeen Stadium project with Aberdeen FC.[4][5] This scheme was thrown into doubt, however, when Aberdeen City Council rejected an application by the two clubs to build a new ground for Cove Rangers that Aberdeen FC would also have used as a training ground.[6][7] On 18 April 2015 Cove Rangers said goodbye to Allan Park as they played their final game before moving to a new stadium being constructed just outside the Cove area in Aberdeen. Allan Park had been bought by housing developers for a figure believed to be around the £3m mark. The sale also included a social club, also owned by the football club, which closed its doors the following day.

Honours

Relocation to Balmoral Stadium

On Friday, 30 July 2010, an article was placed in the local Aberdeen paper, the Evening Express that Stewart Milne, the chairman of Aberdeen, had bought their home ground Allan Park. From the money that Cove received they could finally build their proposed project in the Calder Park area. The proposed new stadium would maximise their chances of getting into the League Two after getting rejected on 3 June 2008 because they didn't have a compliant stadium.

On 19 April 2015, Cove Rangers played their final game at Allan Park following progress being made with Aberdeen City Council in terms of planning permission. In this game Cove marked their departure with a 4–0 victory over Fort William.

The new facility, known as 'Balmoral Stadium', will be located next to a new secondary school, with the merging of Kincorth and Torry Academies into one larger school. In a clause made by Aberdeen City Council, this new school will have access to the new stadium's artificial pitch.

The first match at the stadium took place on 16 July 2018, but had to be abandoned after a Cove player was seriously injured. [8]

Current squad

As of 8 December 2017

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Scotland GK John McCafferty
Scotland GK Stuart McKenzie
Scotland DF Grant Campbell
Scotland DF Darryn Kelly
Scotland DF Dean Lawrie
Scotland DF Harry Milne
Scotland DF Alan Redford
Scotland DF Scott Ross
Scotland DF Stirling Smith
Scotland DF Stuart Walker
Scotland DF Eric Watson
Scotland MF Sam Burnett
No. Position Player
Scotland MF Jamie Masson
Scotland MF Roy McBain
Scotland MF Murray McCulloch
Scotland MF Connor Scully
Scotland MF Ryan Stott
Scotland MF Ryan Strachan
Scotland FW Nick Gray
Scotland FW Paul McManus
Scotland FW Mitch Megginson
Scotland FW Daniel Park
England FW Johnny Smith

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Scotland MF Sam Robertson (on loan to Buckie Thistle)

References

  1. ↑ Gretna relinquish league status, BBC Sports. Retrieved on 3 June 2008
  2. ↑ Coutts wins Player of the Moth Archived 6 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine., Peterborough United FC. Retrieved on 3 November 2008
  3. ↑ "Posh boss receives a pep talk from Sir Alex, ''Peterborough Evening Telegraph''. Retrieved on 3 November 2008". Peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  4. 1 2 Crighton, Ryan (30 July 2010). "Cove Rangers and Dons strike deal". Press and Journal. Aberdeen Journals. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Gilfeather, Frank (22 September 2011). "Aberdeen ignominy now par for the course". The Herald. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "New Aberdeen FC stadium sites 'offered by landowners'". BBC News. BBC. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "New Aberdeen FC park 'killed off', says Stewart Milne". BBC News. BBC. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  8. ↑ https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/1521464/first-ever-match-at-new-balmoral-stadium-abandoned-after-cove-player-suffers-serious-injury/
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