Fraser Fyvie’s double and Harry Milne’s header handed Cove Rangers a 3-0 win over Alloa Athletic.
Fyvie struck twice in the second half against the Wasps and Milne bagged his sixth of the season, which looked to be handing Cove the title until Airdrieonians dug out a late winner.
It was not all plain sailing for Paul Hartley’s side against Alloa but as they have done on many afternoons this season, they found a way to win.
Their remarkable unbeaten run now stretches to 24 games and it has put them within touching distance of the title.
Cove made one change from the 2-0 win over Falkirk, with Mitch Megginson returning from a groin problem to replace the injured Rory McAllister (calf).
Much like the previous meeting between the two sides in the north-east, thick fog hung over the Balmoral Stadium. Cove emerged from it first, with Milne looking to add to his two goals against the Bairns with a header which was deflected over.
Alloa have been a much-improved side since Brian Rice took over and posed early questions of the Cove defence. Conor Sammon met Daniel Church’s cross and forced Stuart McKenzie into a low stop, before Stefan Scougall tried to capitalise on slack play but shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Milne, finding himself in a similar position to his second goal a week ago, tested Alloa goalkeeper Peter Morrison from 20 yards but the visiting stopper clung on comfortably.
Airdrieonians had surged into a two-goal lead inside 30 minutes, putting the dampener on any hopes of an early title-party in Aberdeen. But Cove still had a job of their own to do.
Alloa looked the more composed side in the first period, with their front two of Sammon and Euan Henderson – with Ross MacIver in behind – not allowing Cove to build from the back.
Milne was again proving to be the home side’s biggest attacking threat. In Cove’s system he ostensibly plays as a left winger, with Mark Reynolds in behind him able to slide across and cover defensively.
He had a goal-bound shot blocked before the interval, with Mouhamed Niang intervening at the right time after Milne had seized on Megginson’s rebound.
Just as half-time approached, the title plot thickened. Dumbarton pulled a goal back and Adam Frizzell was sent off for Airdrieonians; Morgyn Neill sent a header narrowly past the far post back in the Granite City.
Nerves are not something you have come to associate with this Cove side. Everything is done with a ruthless efficiency and an unrelenting precision. But with so much on the line it was perhaps inevitable.
McKenzie was required to smother a Niang attempt one-on-one and was out to smartly block from MacIver, with Mark Reynolds back-tracking to divert the ball away from danger.
But when Cove have needed big players to step up, they have rarely been found wanting.
Milne sized up his opportunity down the left, delivering a sumptuous ball across the face of goal with Fyvie diving at full stretch to divert the ball into the far corner.
Fyvie was one of the high-profile players brought in for their SPFL debut, to help Cove move up the leagues. His 12th goal of the season may have helped them take the biggest step yet.
With less than 20 minutes to go, news started to filter round the Balmoral of a goal. A big goal. Rhys McCabe had put through his own net in Airdrie; chants of “Highland dynamite” started in the pocket of fans behind the visitors’ goal in Cove.
Cove had one hand on the title. Blair Yule fizzed an effort passed the far post which could have made that grip a little tighter. But they were still beholden to events elsewhere.
Sure enough the icing was put on the cake, with Fyvie and Connor Scully swapping passes and the midfielder surging on to slot past Morrison.
Fyvie came close to grabbing a hat-trick before the end with a superb shot that came back off the inside of the post before Milne met Jamie Masson’s cross to head in the third.
But late drama at the Excelsior forced the champagne to be put on ice for another week. Jordan Allan came off the bench to give the 10-man Diamonds three points and keep them mathematically in the race.
Cove can complete the job next weekend – irrespective of others’ results – if they beat Dumbarton next weekend.
COVE RANGERS (3-5-2) – McKenzie 6; Ross 6 (Masson 84), Neill 6, Reynolds 7, Logan 6, Yule 6, Vigurs 7, Scully 6, Milne 7, Fyvie 8, Megginson 6. Subs not used – Gourlay, McIntosh, Adeyemo, Leitch, Fotheringham.
ALLOA ATHLETIC – (3-4-1-2) – Morrison 6; Howie 6, Graham 6, Durnan 6, Niang 7, Robertson 6, Scougall 6, Church 6, MacIver 7 (Boyd 83), Henderson 6, Sammon 6. Subs not used – Burt, Cawley, King, Armstrong, O’Donnell, Riley-Snow.
Referee – Craig Napier 6.
Attendance – 1,281.
Man of the match – Fraser Fyvie.