Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Hartley thinks Cove Rangers players can hold heads high despite going out

Cove manager Paul Hartley.
Picture by COLIN RENNIE
Cove manager Paul Hartley. Picture by COLIN RENNIE

Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley was proud of his players, despite heading out of the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup with a 1-0 loss against Connah’s Quay Nomads.

The Aberdeen side made the journey to Wales in confident mood having won seven of their previous eight games.

The Welsh side, who were beaten in the final of the competition by Ross County last season, had already accounted for one Scottish scalp this season by knocking Kilmarnock out of the Europa League.

A late Michael Bakare free kick was enough for Andy Morrison’s side to win Saturday’s tie with Cove left to rue their profligacy in front of goal.

Hartley, however, was pleased with his side’s efforts.

He said: “We are disappointed.

“We put a lot into the game and we handled the directness of the opposition.

“We created more chances than them in the second half but our decision-making could have been better.

“We knew we were up against a tough opposition who play in a certain style.

“We managed to handle that and I felt we were comfortable in the game. In the second half there was only one team that was trying to play and win and that was us.

“Our focus has always been on the league, the cups are a bonus.

“I’m really proud of the players and how they handled themselves.

“They had to play against a different style and we showed we are a really good outfit. When we play we are good to watch.”

Cove dominated for large spells of the second period with Matty Smith hitting the post and Jamie Masson and Declan Glass also going close.

The breakthrough came 14 minutes from time when Bakare caught out Cove goalkeeper Stuart McKenzie with a low free kick at his near post.

Connah’s Quay boss Andy Morrison said: “It was a great win.

“Cove deserve credit.

“I knew they were a good team and they showed that in a 15-20 minute spell in the second half.

“We made two really positive substitutions and I felt that changed the dynamics of the game.

“It looked like they were getting on top.

“I really expect them to romp their league as I have been very impressed with them.

“It is not about being good, it is about winning games of football. It was a tough game but we created some great chances.

“I thought we were valid winners and deserved the win.

“It is tough when you come up against a team who are at the top of their game and as buoyant and confident as this.

“We knew we had to respect them and stop them and we managed to do that.”