Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley believes his players gained valuable game-time after starting pre-season with a 1-1 draw against Dunfermline Athletic.
A trialist gave Cove the lead after 30 minutes, before Paul McGowan, who was playing for Dunfermline as a trialist, equalised from close-range with ten minutes left on the clock.
Cove, relegated to League One, were up against the Pars who won promotion from League One, as Hartley continues to rebuild his squad, who now operate in a hybrid model.
The Cove boss used the friendly at Balmoral Stadium to rotate eight trialists and summer signings, having added six new recruits so far.
Scott Fox, Mark Reynolds, Connor Scully and Fraser Fyvie were the only players from last season’s Championship squad to be named in the starting XI against Dunfermline.
Cove went 1-0 up after 30 minutes after a trialist capitalised on a mistake from Dunfermline goalkeeper Max Little, who was under pressure to clear his lines but instead the ball ricocheted off number 19 and rolled over the line.
There were six changes at half-time including goalkeeper Balint Demus, who spent last season on loan at Breedon Highland League side Buckie Thistle, and denied Craig Wighton an equaliser from the penalty spot in the 76th minute.
But only a few minutes later, McGowan found the back of the net from a couple of yards out to make it 1-1 after connecting with Taylor Sutherland’s cross from the right flank.
Following the draw, Hartley’s men return to friendly action at Balmoral Stadium on Saturday to face Formartine United.
And with trialists featuring heavily, the Cove boss felt the clash with Dunfermline was a valuable exercise to assess those players and his new signings.
Hartley said: “We’ve had them (the trialists) in since last week. It was nice to have a look at them and not judge too early.
“Some of them did OK and we’ll have another look at them on Saturday.
“They’re Dutch, a couple of Scottish and English (players) – we’re just having a look and we’ll continue to do that over the next few weeks, but if you can maybe get one out of it then you’re doing OK.
“I thought the new lads showed up pretty well also.
“It was pleasing for the workout and the first game. The most important thing was getting the minutes out of them and staying clear of injuries.”
Hartley reckons the friendly against last season’s League One champions was a chance for some players to adapt to a new environment, as he added: “We’ve done a lot of hard work this week. We’ve really put the miles in.
“A lot of them haven’t been used to playing on astroturf and on a big pitch, but it was pleasing to see the overall work rate of the players.”
