‘It was bloody cold!’ – Aussie keeper Nick Suman happy spot-kick save helped Cove Rangers claim comeback point at Montrose

Cove Rangers’ spot-kick save hero Nick Suman thought a 1-1 draw from a goal down at wind and rain-battered Montrose was a good point for his side.

The keeper got down to stop Michael Gardyne’s 67th-minute penalty after Cove top-scorer Rumarn Burrell had cancelled out former Elgin striker Kane Hester’s opener in the first-half at Links Park.

Suman’s save ensured a share of the League One spoils to take back up the road to Aberdeen, and the big Aussie, who was shocked by the wintry weather in Angus, said: “It was a good penalty save.

“We’d heard a couple of times he (Gardyne) likes that side, but it’s sheer luck at the end of the day. I did well to make the save and keep the team in it.

“We do our research each week, so we take everything on board. but I think it was a really strong performance from the team to get through that with the conditions we had to put up with today. It’s a good result.

“It was difficult, but it was something new to me – a new challenge, but it was good fun.

“It was bloody cold!”

The Gable Endies went ahead after 10 minutes when Blair Lyons latched on to a through-ball before squaring to the unmarked Hester, who had the simple task of turning it into the empty net.

Cove’s Josh Kerr had a good effort just after the half-hour mark, but his free-kick from 25 yards flew just wide.

The visitors got a deserved equaliser on 42 minutes, though, when Burrell ran in behind the Montrose defence. His right-foot shot into the right corner from just inside the box gave home keeper Cammy Gill no chance as Burrell claimed his 19th goal of the season.

Kerr had another golden opportunity after 63 minutes, but his shot was parried by Gill.

And Montrose might have secured all three points when Ben Hermiston was fouled as he ran into the Cove area and referee Gavin Duncan had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

However, Gardyne’s kick to the bottom right-hand corner was well saved by Suman.

Cove sub Mark Gallagher could have sealed the points for his side when he broke clear just before the final whistle, but Gill blocked his shot and the chance was lost.

Despite the strong wind and driving rain, both sides battled hard in the conditions, and in the end both managers agreed a draw was probably a fair result.

Cove manager Paul Hartley felt his side played some good football, saying: “We had some really great opportunities, although I thought it was a difficult game for both teams.”

“I feel maybe over the piece a draw was a fair result.

“We had some really good chances to win the game, but Nick keeps us in with a really good penalty save.”

“Overall, it’s a good point – that’s a hard day. It was hard for the players.”

“You can’t judge the wind, the ball, but we still tried and made some really good chances”

The result keeps third-placed Cove seven points clear of Montrose in the League One standings, but they are now nine points behind second-placed Hamilton with a game in hand.