Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley pulled no punches when assessing their season-opening defeat to Spartans and labelled it a “wake-up call”.
The Aberdeen outfit were beaten 5-0 at a foggy Balmoral Stadium in their first Group E Premier Sports League Cup encounter.
Boss Hartley made it clear his side fell well below the standards he expects.
He said: “It was really poor, the goals we gifted were terrible.
“We didn’t start well enough, we were too passive, we didn’t pass it, we didn’t break the lines or penetrate and we were too wide open for my liking.
“We’ve been good in pre-season, but when it comes to the real stuff, the nitty gritty, that’s when it counts and we’ve got a lot of work to do.
“We’re still short of players, but as a unit we didn’t perform to the levels we can.
“We need to bring some more players in and I knew that before this game.
“We knew we were short in certain areas and it showed.
“But we had defenders not doing their jobs, midfielders not doing their jobs. The basics, not passing it well enough, taking too many touches and getting caught, we were miles off of where we should be.
“It’s a wake-up call. Our home has always been a fortress for us, but we gifted too many chances and we were too wide open for my liking.”
Visitors go nap
Spartans took the lead in the 16th minute when Cameron Russell went down under Michael Doyle’s challenge inside the box and referee Duncan Nicolson pointed to the penalty spot.
Visiting captain Blair Henderson made no mistake from 12 yards and found the bottom left corner.
Just shy of the half hour mark the Edinburgh side doubled their lead. Russell’s low delivery from the right was turned into his own net by Will Gillingham under pressure from Henderson.
Early in the second period one of Cove’s summer signings, Declan Glass, went close with a strike from the edge of area.
However, in the 52nd minute Spartans sealed victory with their third goal.
Russell did well on the left flank and his ball across goal broke for the unmarked Jamie Dishington to tap in at the back post.
Cove, who are full-time and finished fifth in League One last season, tried to rally against their part-time opponents who ended last term third in League Two.
Jacob Kerr headed off target, new recruit Grady McGrath had an effort deflected behind and a Glass drive forced goalkeeper Blair Carswell into a decent stop.
But Spartans weren’t finished and Russell, who was excellent throughout, cut in from the right and fired a tremendous left-foot shot into the top left corner from 25 yards on 73 minutes.
In the 82nd minute Russell was on target again, curling a free-kick from the edge of the box into the bottom right corner.
Cove return to action on Saturday when they face Forfar Athletic at Station Park.
