Cove Rangers remain at the foot of the table after they were held to a 1-1 draw with fellow Championship strugglers Hamilton Accies.
It had been a scrappy contest at New Douglas Park, before Luis Longstaff gave Cove the lead on 57 minutes.
Accies were awarded a penalty on 61 minutes after a Shay Logan handball, which Connor Smith buried into the bottom corner to make it 1-1.
The draw means Cove have won only once in 15 Championship games, but it is their first point in the league since February 18 having lost six games in a row prior to the Hamilton clash.
Paul Hartley’s side remain two points adrift of Accies at the bottom of the Championship.
A well-worked move almost saw Cove go in front after 11 minutes, as Connor Scully dropped short at a corner, before swinging the ball into the box to find Blair Yule, whose header went just over the bar.
Hartley was forced into making a change on 35 minutes as Yule, who only returned from injury last weekend, was unable to continue and Miko Virtanen came on.
Hamilton Accies were screaming for a penalty when Benny Ashley-Seal was taken down in the box, before the forward managed to knock the ball into the back of the net.
But it wasn’t given as referee Mike Roncone instead blew his whistle for a foul on goalkeeper Scott Fox, who had to be replaced as a result of the collision and Kyle Gourlay entered the fray.
Hamilton almost went ahead right before half-time after a stramash in the box, but a goal-line clearance from Jackson Longridge kept the score level at the break.
Cove took the lead through Longstaff on 57 minutes with a low drive from the right hand side of the box, after the winger was played through by Scully, but their lead didn’t last long after Smith’s penalty equaliser four minutes later.
Gourlay made a vital stop with his feet to deny Accies’ Dylan Stephenson, before Cove went right up the other end and had a chance of their own as Scully hit the side-netting.
It took until the dying minutes for Cove to ramp up the pressure and pester the Accies keeper with chances from Anthony Weston and Mark Reynolds, but they came too late as it finished 1-1.
Talking points
A scrappy affair at New Douglas Park
It was a cagey game and it felt like both sides were fearful to play with the shackles off.
The stakes were high, with both sides needing the three points in their respective fights against relegation, and as the game went on it looked more and more clear why both teams are sitting at the bottom of the table.
Cove had the lion’s share of possession in the first half but were unable to do anything with it and were susceptible to being hit on the break, but Hamilton also created very little when in the final third.
After the break, referee Roncone was kept busy as there were fouls aplenty as both sides looked for the breakthrough. It looked like the home side were going to be the most likely to break the deadlock until Longstaff’s opener.
There was more intensity to the second half after both goals, but both teams struggled to get into a good flow as it remained disjointed end-to-end stuff.
Luis Longstaff a positive down the right flank
The former Liverpool youngster looked lively for Cove down the right wing and the visitor’s plan of action seemed to be to get him on the ball as often as possible.
Longstaff was winning fouls and beating Accies players with some fancy footwork but for all his hard work, there were rarely times it led to anything meaningful in front of goal
The winger kept plugging away and sent an inviting cross into the box in the second half, which looked like it was set up on a plate for an incoming Michael O’Halloran but he failed to connect.
Minutes after that chance, Longstaff scored the opener – and his first goal of the season – with a low drive which he sent beyond Fulton from the right side of the box.
Talking tactics
Hartley made three changes from last weekend’s 5-0 defeat to Partick Thistle, as Scott Ross, Cieran Dunne and Mark Reynolds came in to the starting XI for Jason Naismith, Morgyn Neil and Leighton McIntosh.
Player ratings
HAMILTON ACCIES (4-1-4-1) – Fulton 6, O’Reilly 6, Martin, Ashley-Seal 6, C Smith 6, Sparrow 6, McGowan 6, L Smith 6 (Stephenson 62), Tumilty 5, De Bolle 6 (Zanatta 62), Lawson 6
Subs not used: J Smith, Easton, Spence, Winter, Owens, McGinn
COVE RANGERS (4-2-2) – Fox 6 (Gourlay 41), Logan 6, Scully 6, O’Halloran 5 (McIntosh 64), Yule 6 (Virtanen 35) (Vigurs 71), Megginson 6, Longstaff 7, Longridge 6, Dunne 6 (Weston 70), Reynolds 5
Subs not used: Naismith, Neill, Glass
Referee – Mike Roncone 6
Star man
Luis Longstaff – The winger was a bright spark in what was a rather mediocre afternoon for both sets of players.
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