Mitch Megginson was again left to criticise Cove Rangers’ inability to keep goals out after their second-half collapse against Hamilton Accies.
In an utterly baffling game of football, the two sides shared eight goals, with Accies coming back from 4-1 down to tie the game.
Their 89th-minute leveller came from an indirect free-kick inside the box, with goalkeeper Kyle Gourlay penalised for time-wasting and goalkeeping coach Derek Soutar sent off after the final whistle for protesting to referee Chris Graham.
Mark Reynolds and Megginson had Cove, who were without manager Jim McIntyre due to illness, two goals up before Andy Winter pulled one back.
Megginson and Gerry McDonagh extended the lead after the interval, before Andy Ryan and a Steve Lawson penalty reduced the deficit.
Ryan was laid off by Lawson from the indirect free-kick, with his shot taking a huge deflection off Jamie Masson to level up an incredible match.
Cove ‘gifting teams goals’
Megginson, who scored his 200th goal during the game, was left cursing Cove’s inability to close out the game after giving away more cheap goals.
“It sums up our season so far, conceding goals like that,” he said. “Teams aren’t even working for them. We’re gifting teams goals – 30 seconds after we score the second and again when we go 4-1 up.
“It’s down to slackness and switching off and at this level you can’t do that. We should be walking away with three points and it feels like we’ve been beat.
“It’s about game management. Up to 60 minutes we played football and, after that, we started launching it and that’s not our game.
“It’s for us to look internally over the week why that’s happened. But it’s happened too many times this season.”
Reynolds put Cove in front after heading in Connor Scully’s looping ball, with Megginson doubling the lead from the penalty spot after a Miko Virtanen hand-ball.
Winter’s deflected shot pulled one back before the break, but Cove scored two more in the first 10 minutes of the second half, with Megginson tapping in Scully’s cross-shot and Gerry McDonagh neatly flicking in a ball from Max Johnston.
But Accies rallied through Ryan’s header, then Lawson scored from the spot after Reynolds wiped out Winter.
‘Unless we get three points it doesn’t really mean anything’
With stoppage-time approaching, Gourlay was punished by Graham for time-wasting, holding on to the ball too long, with an indirect free-kick given. In a game Accies looked dead and buried in, Ryan’s drive hit Masson and beat a stranded Gourlay to level the scores.
“If you go away from home, score four goals and are 4-1 up, you’ve got to see that out,” said Megginson.
“It’s more the manner we’re conceding them in. It’s poor defending as a team, poor all over. Teams aren’t working hard, we’re just gifting stupid goals away.
“We put in a good performance against Ayr and came here and dominated the game. We should be walking away with three points, but we’re not.”
There was little time for Megginson to appreciate reaching his Cove goal no. 200 after they missed the chance to make up ground on the rest of the Championship.
“Unless we get three points it doesn’t really mean anything,” he added. “Personally it’s nice to get it, but we’re in a position where we need to pick up points.
“Maybe give it a couple of days and I’ll look back on it as a good achievement. But just now it’s too raw to have that happiness come out.”
Match information
HAMILTON ACCIES (4-1-4-1) – J Smith 5; Brown 5 (One 80), Doyle 6, Easton 6, Shiels 5 (McGinn 55), Virtanen 5, L Smith 5 (Mimnaugh 55), Lawson 6, Ngandu 5 (Tiehi 46), Winter 7, Ryan 7. Subs not used – Scully, Zanatta, Owens, Newbury, Latona.
COVE RANGERS (4-4-2) – Gourlay 5; Johnston 6, Sanders 6, Reynolds 6, Logan 6, Longstaff 5, Yule 6, Gilmour 6, Scully 7, McDonagh 7 (Masson 64), Megginson 8. Subs not used – McKenzie, Towler, Neill, Vigurs, Leitch, Dunne.
Referee – Chris Graham 5.
Player of the match – Mitch Megginson.
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