Having Rory McAllister and Mitch Megginson in their ranks has certainly made life easier for Cove Rangers.
That fact is not lost on Harry Milne, who has seen the pair score 14 goals apiece this season to anchor Cove’s position at the top of the table.
For full-back Milne, who has played further forward since Cove have switched to a three-man defence, having two reliable goalscorers in the penalty area makes the job simple for him and his team-mates.
“Neither of them need any introduction,” he said. “They’ve been around for a while now, scored hundreds of goals. The likelihood is, if you put in a decent ball, they’re going to be on the end of it.
“It gives you an extra option, to put the ball into the box early rather than having to take on your man or find a pass. You know there’s a good chance they’ll probably work the goalkeeper, if not score.”
There has been little to criticise in Cove’s form at the moment. They have been fighting successfully on all fronts, advancing in the Scottish Cup and SPFL Trust Trophy, as well as stretching their unbeaten run to 10 games.
You know things are going well when one of your centre-backs is sticking one in the top corner from 25 yards, as Morgyn Neill did in the 3-0 win over Falkirk last weekend.
Milne said: “We’re unbeaten in 10, which is great form. We’re showing it in all competitions; we’re managing to keep that momentum through all competitions, which is good.
“It was a big one against Falkirk, to go down there and dismantle them a bit. I think there was a period in the second half where they didn’t touch it for five or 10 minutes. There’s a lot to be pleased about at the moment.
“Morgyn was right centre-back of the three and I was on the left. I was looking over and wondered what he was doing – the way he was going forward, it looked like he was going to hit it.
Scoring a screamer at one end and keeping a clean sheet at the other…@CoveRangersFC's @MorgynNeill96 is in #TOTW after his display against Falkirk! 🚀#cinchL1 pic.twitter.com/tHDL4HqfVJ
— SPFL (@spfl) December 14, 2021
“But bang, it went straight in. We hadn’t had the best of starts of the game, but that goal settled us down and took the sting out of them.”
Cove have won their last four league games and have a three-point lead over Montrose ahead of Alloa Athletic coming to the Balmoral Stadium this weekend.
The two sides met earlier in the season, with a McAllister hat-trick helping Cove to a 3-1 win.
“The game we had down there was a bit of a non-event, after one of their players got sent off in the first minute,” added Milne. “They ended up chasing us for 90 minutes and it wasn’t as competitive as it might have been.
“I don’t think you can read too much into that, in terms of how they’ll set up at the weekend. It’ll be a tough game, but one we’re looking forward to.”
Amid their impressive run there was disappointment on a personal level for Milne, who was sent off in the win over Rangers B which put them into the last four of the SPFL Trust Trophy.
He picked up two bookings in quick succession – one for deliberate handball and then for a foul – to rule him out of the semi-final against Queens.
“It was kind of my fault,” he added. “I was a bit disappointed with the second booking, I felt it was a bit harsh. I felt like he’d ran across me and left his leg behind, which meant it was impossible to avoid him.
“It’s going to be disappointing obviously. We’re playing a Queen of the South team we know we can beat and it’ll be brilliant for the fans and the club if we can get to a final.”