Cove Rangers captain Mitch Megginson reckons there are few more dangerous partnerships in League One than him and Rory McAllister.
The pair have combined for nine goals so far this season and have continued to show why they are two of the best marksmen in the SPFL.
McAllister has a proven track record over the last decade, chiefly at Saturday’s opponents Peterhead, but Megginson’s talents have come to the fore again since Cove joined the SPFL in 2019.
Megginson is quick to talk up his strike partner’s capabilities, with McAllister scoring in Cove’s 1-1 draw with Montrose last weekend.
“He’s started the season well and taken his chances, “said Megginson. “I was joking with him the other day that I’ll have to stop giving him penalties – I’ll have to start to taking my own ones.
“But you expect that from Rory. He’s done it over the years, he’s going to get goals for us. Myself and him linking up, there’s not many more dangerous combinations in the league.
“When me and Rory play I tend to drop into pockets and pick up balls to drive at defenders. It does change my game; it gives me more freedom, rather than being that central focal point and running in behind. It frees me up to get on the ball more.
“If myself and Rory aren’t scoring, we need someone else to chip in with goals and that’s still the case. We also need to chip in elsewhere with goals, because it’s not guaranteed me and Rory are going to score every game, as much as we’d like to.
“At the end of the day a striker’s job is to score goals. That’s what we’ve done over the last few years and the onus is on us to go and score as many as we can. We enjoy that pressure that’s put on us.
“The record for the both of us speaks for itself and we just want to continue doing that.”
The point made about other players chipping in has some merit. Only one other Cove player has scored in the league this season, with Robbie Leitch scoring twice.
The Cove many have come to expect after an impressive two years in the league has not come to the fore yet, after a steady if unspectacular start to the season.
“We’re getting there,” said Megginson. “Squad numbers keep getting hampered. We’ve not quite got a fully-fit team yet.
“If you look over the years League One is always tight and there’s very little between the sides. No-one really runs away with it.
“There’s a lot of quality in this league and it’s a strange league at times. You can’t take any result for granted.
“From our point of view, a few of the results we’ve been disappointed in, where we feel we should have taken three points and we’ve not.”
The derby with north-east rivals Peterhead this weekend should sharpen the focus. There are familiar faces on both sides and the Blue Toon have already gotten the better of Cove this season, winning 3-1 in the Premier Sports Cup.
“It’s our local derby. We know a lot of boys there and they know a lot of boys here,” added Megginson. “We’re good friends off the park so it gives it that extra spark.
“It’s an important game – both teams will be desperate to get three points on the board and when you go up to Peterhead, you know you’re in for a tough afternoon.
“Beating Clyde at home will give them a bit of confidence but we’re going up to get three points. They always raise their game when they play ourselves but I think that’s testament to our quality.
“We need to win the battle first and let the quality come through.”