Paul Hartley hailed his Cove Rangers players for grinding out a pivotal 1-0 win at Arbroath to keep their hopes of avoiding relegation alive.
Defender Morgyn Neill came on for the closing stages of a tense encounter as a makeshift attacker for a Cove team depleted by injuries.
The gamble paid off with Neill nodding home the winner from an Iain Vigurs corner with six minutes remaining to help end a 10-game winless run.
Cove remain bottom but are level on 30 points with Hamilton Accies who have only one game left to play.
Arbroath are only three points ahead but, like Cove, have two games left to play.
Hartley said: “It gives us an opportunity to take it into the final game and that was all we could ask from the players.
“It has been a tough run.
“It wasn’t a great game of football. I didn’t expect it to be with the conditions.
“We managed the game well, especially in the first half when we were against the wind.
“In the second half there wasn’t a lot happening.
“I said at half-time to the staff that putting Morgyn on up front would give us a bit of height.
“We managed to get the goal and then put him back (into defence).
“It is nice to get a clean sheet and three points.
“It might be a normal Saturday night for myself. It has been tough but we have given ourselves a chance to finish potentially eighth, maybe ninth.
“We always wanted to take it to the last game.”
After a difficult spell, Hartley was pleased to see his side pick up a first league win since a 1-0 victory against Partick Thistle at Firhill on February 4.
The Cove boss said: “We are still at the bottom but we have given ourselves a wee bit of hope that we can maybe get out of it.
“I’m really pleased for the players as it has been tough.
“There has been a lot of criticism coming our way and rightly so because we weren’t winning games.
“Football is about enjoyment and I’ll certainly enjoy a glass of wine tonight.”
The blustery conditions at Gayfield made life tough for both sets of players but Hartley felt his side adapted better to the challenge.
Cove head to Dens Park on Friday evening to face a Dundee side who are one point clear at the summit following a 1-1 draw at Caley Thistle.
Hartley added: “I think the pitch suited us with the conditions.
“We had to battle and fight. We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty or free-flowing football.
“We had to match the elements and how Arbroath play at home because they have some really good players, such as Michael McKenna who is one of the best in the division.
“We had to deal with set-plays but we had good height in our team.
“They had a lot of corners in the first half – Thomas O’Brien is dangerous at set-plays and we managed that well.
“It was a nice feeling and a nice journey up the road.”
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