Mitch Megginson delivered a match-winning hat-trick as Cove Rangers surged to a 5-2 win over East Fife.
First-half goals from Robbie Leitch and Megginson put Cove clear and a Rory McAllister penalty extended the lead after the break.
Connor McManus pulled one back from the spot away side but a spectacular second from Megginson restored the three-goal cushion.
Kevin Smith found the net for East Fife before Megginson completed his hat-trick with a well-placed header.
Cove made three changes from the defeat to Queen’s Park, with the suspended Fraser Fyvie missing out and Morgyn Neill and Leighton McIntosh dropping to the bench. In came Connor Scully, Scott Ross and Rory McAllister.
East Fife included Daniel Higgins on the bench, who had only joined the New Bayview side on Friday evening from Cove.
Paul Hartley had wanted his side to move the ball better than in their previous two league games, which had yielded just a point.
There were certainly signs of improvement early on, with McAllister and Leitch combining for the midfielder to fire wide, while Mitch Megginson saw an effort cleared off the line by Scott Mercer after McAllister teed him up.
Leitch found the target in decisive fashion though on 19 minutes, after Harry Milne’s low cross travelled to the back post for him to give Cove the lead.
The home side were in the mood and threatened an immediate second. Shay Logan clipped the ball into McAllister, whose shot on the turn was parried away by Scott Gallacher.
East fife were game opponents but were struggling to test Kyle Gourlay, as Cove looked the most likely to find the net again.
McAllister wondered how he failed to hit the target 10 minutes before the break after Megginson’s cross picked him out at the back post. McAllister got in front of his marker but steered the ball wide of goal.
Darren Young’s side had their best chance when Mercer’s ball floated over the Cove defence and picked out Danny Denholm, who placed his diving header straight at Gourlay.
But they were further behind before the interval and again the visiting defence could have done better.
40' | CRFC 2-0 EFFC
GOAL! Vigurs powerful strike isn't held by the keeper. McAllister is first onto it and picks out Megginson who slots it home.#CRFCLive pic.twitter.com/O7vAZab4ui
— Cove Rangers FC (@CoveRangersFC) August 14, 2021
Gallacher parried Iain Vigurs’ long-range effort and the first person to react to it was McAllister, who laid the ball back to Megginson. He picked his spot across goal into the far corner.
It could have been three before the break, with Gallacher turning a Vigurs free-kick round the post and Milne heading the resulting corner wide.
East Fife swapped their goalkeepers at half-time, with Jude Smith coming on, but his first act was to pick the ball out of the net.
McAllister’s attempted cross was adjudged to have hit the arm of defender Pat Slattery, with referee Euan Anderson pointing to the spot. The Cove striker took the penalty himself and sent the replacement stopper the wrong way.
The visitors got themselves on the scoresheet before the hour mark with a penalty of their own. Anderson penalised Milne for tangling with ex-Cove loanee Jamie Semple, with McManus dispatching the penalty.
There was to be no sense of a fightback though, with a fearsome strike from Megginson from 25 yards arrowing into the top corner.
That allowed Cove to bring on Jamie Masson for his first appearance in more than four months, after the midfielder recovered from a serious ankle injury.
Smith rolled in after Kyle Connell’s persistence had created an opening for him but Cove countered again, with Megginson nodding in from Milne’s cross to complete an impressive victory.