Cove Rangers boss Jim McIntyre stressed their goal remains to stay in the Championship after scrapping to a 2-2 draw with Partick Thistle.
Partick were dominant for large spells of the game and ought to have been further ahead than just the two goals they were, scored by Steven Lawless and Stuart Bannigan.
Kyle Gourlay helped keep the score down with a number of key saves in the Cove goal, which set the platform for Reynolds’ late heroics.
McIntyre wants his side to start giving themselves a chance in games by cutting out the cheap goals they are conceding, as he admits it will be a difficult road for them in the Championship this season.
“Thistle were so dominant in the first-half and we were lucky to only be one goal behind,” said McIntyre. “We are conceding far too many cheap goals.
“A combination of Kyle Gourlay’s brilliant saves and some poor finishing from Thistle kept us in the game.
“We spoke about getting the next goal when it went to 2-0. It puts a seed of doubt into the opposition’s mind and that is exactly what it done. They have the big fanbase here and when that happens that can go against you and that is what you are looking to do.
“The goal let us puff our chests out and we started to believe in ourselves a wee bit more and that is what we need to do from the start of games because we have good players here.
“The goal for us to stay in this league because it is a competitive and tough league as you see from today’s results across the board. We just need to make sure that we stick together.
“It’s going to be a long road and we’ve just got to try learn from the types of goals that we’re giving away. If we can do that, we’ve certainly got players in the team that can hurt the opposition.”
Thistle went ahead through Lawless’ long-range strike, which hit the underside of the crossbar before beating Gourlay.
The Cove stopper denied Scott Tiffoney – twice – Brian Graham and Jack McMillan in the first half but was beaten seven minutes into the second with a well-placed finish from Bannigan.
The visitors had not threatened much but delivered a killer touch from set-pieces, with Reynolds getting his first after Leighton McIntosh kept a corner alive and the ball broke into the centre-half’s path. His deflected shot crept into the corner of the net to give Cove hope.
Three minutes later the comeback was complete as Shay Logan’s corner was turned back across goal to an unmarked Reynolds, who was able to crash home.
“I said I expect my centre-backs to chip in with goals – I wasn’t quite expecting the types of goals he got today,” said McIntyre. “Set-plays are always huge, in the second phase especially, as that’s where the ball can break and where the opposition can switch off.
“We’ve punished them and he’s stuck them away really well.”
PARTICK THISTLE (4-4-1-1) – Mitchell 6; McMillan 6 (Hodson 71), Muirhead 6, Holt 6, Milne 7, Lawless 7, Docherty 6, Bannigan 7, Tiffoney 7 (Fitzpatrick 71), Turner 7, Graham 7 (Dowds 71). Subs not used – Sneddon, Brownlie, Smith, Weston, Akinola, Mullen.
COVE RANGERS (4-3-3) – Gourlay 7; Logan 6, Ross 5 (McClelland 46), Reynolds 7, Towler 5, Fyvie 6 (Yule 78), Gilmour 6, Scully 6, Leitch 5 (McIntosh 62), Megginson 5, Masson 6 (Longstaff 62). Subs not used – McKenzie, Neill, Vigurs, Dunne, Johnston.
Referee – Calum Scott 5.
Attendance – 2,918.
Player of the match – Steven Lawless.