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Drab Draw Inverness hosted Cove Rangers and were without Flynn Duffy, Lewis Nicolson and Ethan Cairns. Paul Allan and former Cove players Luis Longstaff and Charlie Gilmour had returned to the squad with Gilmour and Longstaff starting. Cove had won their last two outings and put three past Kelty Hearts last weekend with Mitch Megginson always a threat up front. Adam Emslie tapped in at the back post to open the scoring after twenty minutes. Substitute James Nolan levelled five minutes after the restart following a corner. A replacement official was required to complete the game and even with fifteen minutes added on, there was no further scoring. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An overcast but calm afternoon greeted the players and a freshly painted bar area greeted the fans at the stadium. After a slow start, Adam Brooks was first to have a go, in fact a double go as his first effort was saved at the expense of a corner, the second fired over the bar. Cove opened the scoring after twenty-minutes following a quick break forward involving Marshall, Adam Emslie the scorer and Megginson after he missed the ball at the front post and Emslie had the simple task of tapping in at the far post. Brooks missed a great opportunity to level matters but headed over from close range at the near post. Scully shot over from the edge of the box five minutes before the break. It had been a poor first half for the hosts who trailed at the interval with Brooks the biggest sinner in front of goal. HALF TIME: 0-1 James Nolan came on at the restart and five minutes later he was scoring his first goal for the club after his initial shot was saved but his follow-up found the net. Keeper Suman was replaced by Demus when he went off injured minutes later. Duncan Ferguson appeared to pick up another yellow card after an angry exchange when Gilmour was booked. An injury to the referee prompted a tannoy call for a replacement from the crowd as the game was halted. One of the assistants took control of the game and a substitute linesman was sourced from the stand and duly appeared to run the line as assistant Will Pare took centre stage. On resumption, Emslie was denied a second goal by Dibaga. Megginson was blocked brilliantly by Calum MacLeod as he looked favourite to add a second for Cove as the game approached the ninety-minute mark. However, there was plenty time added on for the replacement of the referee and Jake Davidson fired wide deep into added time. 15 minutes of additional time came and went before Will Pare brought the game to a halt and the points were shared with opportunities at a premium. FULL TIME: 1-1 The only positive to take from today was Caley Jags fan Jamie Mackinnon stepping in to save the game being abandoned and running the line after the referee went off having made too many wrong decisions... Or maybe he was injured. Apparently the tannoy announcement was so successful the club will do the same at next weeks game with Stenhousemuir and will ask the fans if there is a manager in the stands willing to step in and do Dunc's job. There you go Jamie. This week running the line, next week running the club. The world is your lobster. <<<Jamie can be seen here jogging past Remi Savage after assuring him that the offside law has been cancelled. Well done you. <<image from Caley Jags.Com >> Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Alloa Athletic 7 3 13 2 Montrose 7 4 12 3 Queen of the South 7 2 11 4 Stenhousemuir 7 0 10 5 Kelty Hearts 7 2 9 6 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 7 0 8 7 Cove Rangers 7 -1 8 8 Annan Athletic 7 -6 7 9 Dumbarton 7 -1 6 10 Arbroath 7 -3 6 Date: 21/09/2024 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1505 Referee: Stewart Luke Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Duncan Ferguson Lineup: Dibaga; W Duffy (Nolan 46), Devine, Savage, Davidson, Longstaff, Gilmour, MacLeod (Allan 90), MacKinnon, B Mckay (Thompson 90), Brooks (Bray (82) Subs (not used): Newman; Strachan, Ferguson, Ewan, C Mackay Scorers: Nolan (51) Booked: Gilmour (60) Sent Off: none Cove Rangers: 1 Manager: Paul Hartley Lineup: Suman (Demus 55); Doyle, Gillingham, Darge, Parker, Harrington (McAllister 61), Scully, Yule, Megginson (Gaffney 90+6), Marshall, Emslie Subs (not used): Demus; Murray, McGrath Scorers: Emslie (21) Booked: Doyle (39), Darge (42), Yule (43), Marshall (85) Sent Off: none a