‘We have moved on’ says Hartley as Cove bid to bounce back from cup exit

Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley reckons his side will have no Scottish Cup hangover when they host Albion Rovers tonight. The League 2 leaders were knocked out of the cup by Auchinleck Talbot ten days ago in their last outing and Hartley said: “Sometimes you want to get back playing again because you have played badly, but we played well. We just never scored and then were hit by a late goal.

“We have moved on and are ready for an Albion Rovers side that secured an emphatic 5-0 win at Fort William at the weekend.”

Coatbridge manager Kevin Harper does not feel that Cove have any advantage despite his side making a second long trip north. “Players would rather be playing than training so that will not be an issue,” he said. Cowdenbeath head to Stirling Albion with manager Gary Bollan, left, hoping the Fifers return to their league form.

His side surged up the table thanks to six successive wins but crashed to a 3-0 Scottish Cup defeat by East of Scotland League’s Broxburn in Saturday’s replay. “We never performed and we have suffered the consequences,” said the Central Park boss. “I thought that after the first meeting we would have been on the front foot but we were not. Hopefully the return to league football will get us going again.”

Stenhousemuir pitch up at Edinburgh City with manager David Irons looking for a response after Saturday’s 3-0 Scottish Cup defeat by Lowland League side Penicuik. “Penicuik deserved their win, but it was an awful result for us,” he said. “We had good wins over Brechin, Cove and Waterford since I came in but there will be changes after Saturday.”