Cove Rangers midfielder Jamie Masson felt his side were given a lesson in Championship football in their 4-1 defeat to Caley Thistle.
Cove were punished by a clinical Inverness side in the first half in the Highlands as they struggled to live with their pace.
Austin Samuels and Aaron Doran had put them two clear before the interval, with Robbie Leitch dragging them back into it in the second half.
Samuels found the net again and Nathan Shaw added a fourth to crown a poor afternoon for Cove.
“I don’t think we played well at all, apart from the first 20 of the second half. We played a few good passes but the boys know themselves as a team, it wasn’t good enough,” said Masson.
“You get punished in these leagues – the more you go up, the more you get punished. We’ll go on to Tuesday and Thursday next week and get ready for Ayr. Every game is tough.
“Coming into these leagues, it’s a different level and you need to be prepared for the full-time teams. We know ourselves we didn’t play but if you have off-games, you will get punished.
“It’s a hard one to take but we’ll dust ourselves down and go again.”
FT | ICTFC 4-1 CRFC
A disappointing result in the Highlands. #CRFCLive pic.twitter.com/mmPx3N44vD
— Cove Rangers FC (@CoveRangersFC) August 13, 2022
Masson is back in the side under Jim McIntyre after a frustrating campaign last year, where he was in and out of the team.
He has seen the quality of the squad evolve during pre-season and feels they clearly have more to offer than they showed in Inverness.
“I’m hoping for a run of games and to get up to speed myself. But more importantly the team – once we get going as a team, all the boys in there are quality players and have played at the level before.
“It’s a good squad and you see in training the quality we have. We didn’t show it on Saturday but the quality every Tuesday and Thursday is brilliant. We just need to take it into games and I’m sure it’ll come.
“We’re looking quite good as a squad but it’s just about keeping everybody fit. If you do, it’s a massive plus. Hopefully we don’t get any injuries and look to kick on.”
