Birthday boy Josh Kerr’s late clincher against Annan Athletic at Balmoral Stadium helped Cove Rangers return to winning ways in League One after seven games without a victory.
The result leaves Cove Rangers in fifth spot in League One – two points behind fourth-place Montrose, who won 3-2 at Queen of the South, but with a game in hand on the Gable Endies.
The hosts were forced to make a change after just six minutes when Mark Reynolds was forced off with a facial knock, Kerr, on his 26th birthday, taking his place.
They went in front on the half hour mark when Matthew Shiels’ back-post header was met by Rumarn Burrell, whose effort was clawed away by keeper Jacques Heraghty, only for Burrell to connect with the ball as he was falling and knock it over the line for his 22nd goal of the campaign.
The visitors equalised eight minutes into the second half.
Burrell had a goal chalked off for offside and from the restart Annan stormed up the park with a half clearance from the Cove defence falling to Michael Ndwieni, who fired a fine effort beyond Balint Demus.
Both sides went close before, in the 87th minute, skipper Mitch Megginson played a low ball in from the left which flicked past Heraghty by Kerr to seal all three points.
Cove boss Paul Hartley said: “It was frustrating for large parts of the game.
“We’ve played better and not won, we didn’t play well at all and we won and, at this stage of the season, it stops the run that we were on.
“It was important that we did that and getting the points was the pleasing thing.
“We showed some character without playing well.”
One positive for the Balmoral side was that Fraser Fyvie, in his comeback game, played for 77 minutes and came through unscathed.
He said: “It’s nice to be back, it’s been a long time out again but we got the win.
“I don’t think the performance was too pleasing but, having not won for so long, we changed that and hopefully that continues.
“I was on for a bit longer than I would have liked but the tempo of the game was really slow.
“It was good to be back on the pitch although I was a bit rusty, which is only to be expected.
“I did see a lot of the ball, which is my game, trying to create and keep things moving. It always has been and I don’t think it’ll ever change.”
