Paul Hartley was full of admiration for his Cove Rangers players despite seeing their 100% start to the season end at Falkirk.
A second-half goal from Callumn Morrison was all that separated the sides at the Falkirk Stadium, with a late chance from Leighton McIntosh going just wide.
Goalkeeper Stuart McKenzie made a string of impressive saves to keep the score at one and Hartley believes his players deserve great credit.
He said: “Credit to the players. This team’s come a long way in a short space of time. We played some good stuff at times and were never out of the game.
“It’s football, you lose games. It’s how you bounce back.
“We’ve shown it every game this season – this team is used to winning. We’ll bounce back from this. We’re not too down.
“We’ll not get too high, not get too low, when we win or we get beat. We’re a good outfit and I think a lot of teams show us the respect we’re due.”
Cove were without the suspended Jamie Masson and Daniel Higgins (hamstring), but started Fraser Fyvie and Hartley moved Blair Yule to right-back.
As an attacking threat Cove were effective on the counter, with McIntosh and Rory McAllister peeling away into threatening positions.
McAllister had a strong penalty appeal ignored by referee David Dickinson on 28 minutes after he was picked out by Fyvie, with Ben Hall appearing to barge the striker off balance as he was primed to shoot.
A well-struck effort by Fyvie, teed up by McAllister, was plucked out of the air by goalkeeper Peter Morrison, while Blair Alston ought to have done better when Yule’s clearance fell to him 12 yards out.
He was unmarked as he shot through a crowd of bodies, but hit it straight to McKenzie.
Falkirk’s best chance of the first half came six minutes before the break, with Connor Sammon flicking on for Anton Dowds to shoot. McKenzie parried the effort into Morrison’s path, who was flagged offside before he tucked the ball away.
Cove fell behind three minutes into the second half, with Morrison stretching to turn in a cross from Dowds.
Morrison was a growing influence on the game and again proved a threat in charging down Harry Milne’s clearance, with McKenzie intervening at his near post.
Falkirk’s threat was not going away. Morrison clipped the bar from distance with a speculative strike, while Sammon was denied by McKenzie’s outstretched boot.
It was McKenzie again who prevented a late second as Cove pressed forward, with Charlie Telfer denied first and then Morrison’s header on the rebound clung on to by the visiting stopper.
Dowds thought he had found the net, but McKenzie’s superb save turned it on to the post and the one chance for Cove came for McIntosh, who shot narrowly wide after Megginson chested Connor Scully’s pass into his path.
Hartley added: “We had a gameplan, we watched them and saw what they’re about.
“They’re a physical team with a lot of experience.
“We’re a young team, in terms of coming into league football, but we’ve shown we’re a match for anyone on our day.
“Our players stood up to it today, they were good team-mates. We’ll be ready to go again next week.”