Jonny Smith’s brilliantly taken hat-trick won Cove Rangers their second Press and Journal Highland League title in four years at Grant Street Park this evening.
A draw would have been enough for Cove to lift the silverware but they won the championship in style with a 3-0 victory.
Clach were without first choice goalkeeper John Campbell through work commitments. Captain and centre forward Gordon Morrison, a fire officer, and policeman Blair Lawrie also missed out for the home team.
Cove manager John Sheran, with a full squad at his disposal, left former Dundee United and Aberdeen midfielder Stuart Duff on the bench alongside defender Dean Lawrie, teenager Sam Burnett and former Keith and Inverurie Locos attacker Dean Donaldson.
Clach started well and were awarded a free kick just outside the box in the fifth minute but the Cove defensive wall stood firm to block Stuart Leslie’s well-struck effort.
The hosts almost opened the scoring five minutes later but Cove goalkeeper Stuart McKenzie got a finger to Liam Shewan’s clever lob to divert the ball for a corner.
Cove responded with a Blair Yule 20-yard strike which Macdonald comfortably collected and in the 21st minute the young goalkeeper did even better to grasp another Yule effort from 15 yards.
Clach’s Martin Callum then saw his fierce drive from 20 yards dip just over the top as play swung from end-to-end.
But it was the visitors who took the lead in the 35th minute when Harry Milne’s from a corner fell to Jonny Smith at the back post and he clipped the ball home from three yards out.
Smith could have doubled his own and Cove’s tally shortly after but his powerful header from Daryl Nicol’s in-swinging corner kick sailed over the crossbar.
Two minutes after the restart Cove goalkeeper McKenzie did brilliantly to stop a point-blank Ian Penwright drive and in the 52nd minute Smith lifted any tension in the Cove ranks when he grabbed his second goal of the night with a superb 22-yard curled effort.
Just before the hour mark Harry Milne should have made it 3-0 to the visitors but his close-range effort drifted narrowly past.
Jamie Watt could have made the game safe when he only just failed to get on the end of a Smith flick from a Milne cross with a diving header.
The Cove supporters were in high spirits and in the 74th minute their night was complete when Clach’s Matthew Grant brought down Harry Milne and Smith completed his hat-trick with an immaculately taken spot kick to tie up the league title for John Sheran’s men.
