The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Cove: We had no choice
Backlog: Moorhouse rejects claim club offered to play four games in a week
Cove Rangers chairman Keith Moorhouse says the Highland League leaders were left with no option but to play four games in a week to ease their fixture backlog.
Today’s match against Lossiemouth is the first of six league games John Sheran’s Cove side will play by April 7.
Moorhouse said Highland League secretary Rod Houston was wrong to claim Cove had offered to play four times in a week.
Moorhouse said Cove were forced to accept the situation because of the need for a champion to be crowned by April 14 in time for the SPFL playoffs.
Moorhouse said: “Cove Rangers would like to officially confirm that at no time did we request to play four league games in one week.
“In the absence of an announcement from the SPFL regarding an extension to the season, this suggestion was proposed to us as the only way to get our fixtures
HOWTHEYSTAND
completed by April 14. We were therefore left with no choice but to accept the fixtures as issued by the Highland league.
“We are in a difficult and unique situation this season.
“To be asked to play four games in one week in a very competitive league will be extremely difficult, particularly when you factor in the extensive travel which we will have to make to Fort William and also to Wick.
“In the absence of an extension, this was the only way to finish by April 14”
“Fraserburgh are also suffering from fixture congestion in that they are struggling to find dates for their outstanding fixtures before April 14 and so this remains an issue not just for Cove Rangers but the league as a whole.
“We have reluctantly accepted the situation in the hope the administrators of our game will agree to an extension of the season to give whoever wins the Highland League a fair and reasonable chance in the SPFL play-offs.”
League secretary Houston was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, Cove Rangers midfielder Harry Milne insists lessons have been learned from last season as the club attempts to claim the title in a hectic run-in to the end of the season.
Milne, who scored twice in Tuesday’s 3-2 Highland League Cup defeat by Fraserburgh, said: “One of the main reasons we didn’t win the league last season was because we drew 2-2 at Strathspey.
“We definitely won’t be taking anything for granted at Lossiemouth.
“We conceded a couple of stupid goals against Fraserburgh on Tuesday and we can’t afford to do that again.”
Lossiemouth playermanager Iain MacRae said: “We are going into the Cove game with a bit more confidence as we played well against Deveronvale on Wednesday, despite losing 2-1.
“We played well against Cove at the start of the season.
“It was 0-0 at half-time but they scored just after the break and got another one late on.”
The player-manager added: “If we have the same effort and work-rate as we showed at Vale in midweek the we can certainly give them a game.”