Connor Scully has seen Mitch Megginson score more than his fair share at Cove Rangers but this year he has stolen some of the limelight.
Scully’s goalscoring exploits have been a feel-good story at Cove this season, given he was an infrequent scorer in previous years and has worked his whole career to get to this level.
His consistency has been rewarded with a new two-year contract at the Balmoral Stadium and it has not gone unnoticed among his team-mates that he is also due a testimonial from the club.
But his eight strikes – and the spectacular nature of some of them – underline his enduring importance to the team.
“He must have borrowed my scoring boots for those games,” joked Megginson, who has played alongside Scully since 2016.
“He’s hit some run of form. We keep saying to him that it must be his testimonial year so he needs to make sure he keeps his name in the paper.
“But it’s excellent to see him doing that. As much as he’s played as a defensive midfielder for us, he used to be a winger when he was younger and had that instinct of getting into the box.”
Scully has spent his entire career at Cove and while a few of the key figures who helped the club up from the Highland League have moved on, some still remain.
Blair Yule, Stuart McKenzie, Scott Ross, Jamie Masson and Megginson continue to play their part in trying to move Cove forward again.
“There’s a nucleus of us left and it’s testament to these boys, who have quality and belief in themselves,” added Megginson. “I knew they were more than capable of stepping up again.
“In the lower leagues you’ve got good players and it’s good to see the boys I have come up with – and known for a long time – flourish in the second-highest league in Scotland.”
Megginson has been used to leading the goalscoring charts, for both Cove and the league, but this season he finds himself with a bit of competition.
Scully heads the club list, with Megginson one behind him and Gerry McDonagh putting himself in contention with his four goals against Dunipace.
“I’ve told the boys I’m giving them a chance this season,” said Megginson, who recently broke the 200-goal mark at Cove.
“We wind each other up at training but we need that competition in the squad. We can’t be just relying on myself to get goals as the higher you go up the leagues, the harder it gets.
“Goals being spread about the team is important and it’s not always an easy task.”
Cove have often seen the best of Megginson when he has had someone up top with him. Fraser Fyvie and Rory McAllister, now at Montrose, both partnered him in attack.
At the start of the season, when manager Jim McIntyre opted for a 4-3-3, he often cut a frustrated figure as the lone striker with chances harder to come by.
But since McDonagh’s reintroduction to the team against Ayr United, his performances and those of the team have started to pick up.
“As you go up the leagues, the two centre-halves get a bit more street-wise and being the one striker becomes a bit more difficult,” added Megginson.
“It changes the way you need to play, as you need to stay more central, link play and almost play as a target man.
“Playing in a two allows me to run at defenders from deeper and float about a bit more. Naturally I will play the 10 role and it gives me a bit more freedom.
“Rory (McAllister) and Gerry take the barges from the centre-halves and allow me to get on the ball! But two up top does make things a bit easier.”
Connor Scully reveals challenge with brother as Cove Rangers stalwart targets goal landmark