List of Cove Rangers F.C. seasons

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Cove Rangers Football Club, a senior association football club based in Cove Bay, Aberdeen, Scotland, was founded in 1922. Cove originally played in the local amateur leagues before becoming a junior team in 1985, but the club successfully applied to join the senior Highland Football League in 1986,[1] the joint-highest tier of non-league football in Scotland, along with the Lowland Football League, and joint-fifth tier overall in the Scottish football league system. They spent 33 consecutive seasons in the Highland League, winning the competition seven times.

The 2014–15 season saw the introduction of a play-off competition where the champions of the Highland and Lowland Leagues would play each other and the winner plays the club that finished in last place of Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, for a chance to take their place for the following season.[2] If the League Two club wins they retain their league status. All play-off matches are two-legged ties. Cove Rangers first entered the play-offs when they won the 2015–16 Highland Football League, they lost to the Lowland League champions Edinburgh City 4–1 on aggregate in the semi-final.[3] Their next chance at promotion was in the 2017–18 season, they beat The Spartans in the semi-final but lost 3–1 on aggregate to League Two side Cowdenbeath.[4] They won the play-offs in their third attempt after winning the 2018–19 Highland Football League, they beat East Kilbride in the semi-final and Berwick Rangers in the final with a 7–0 aggregate win, earning promotion to the 2019–20 Scottish League Two.[5]

The club's first season in a professional league was a successful one, they played 28 games, won 22, drew two and lost four. The season was suspended on the 13 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and curtailed on the 15 April with the points per game earned by each team to date used to determine the final standings, which resulted in the club finishing in first place, therefore winning the League Two title and earning a second consecutive promotion to League One.[6]

Cove qualified to enter the Scottish Cup nine times before becoming full members of the Scottish Football Association and qualifying automatically each season from 2007–08.[1] Their best run in the cup was reaching the fifth round in the 2017–18 season. After their promotion to League Two in 2019 the club was eligible to participate in the League Cup and Challenge Cup, being eliminated in the group stage and third round respectively.

As at the end of 2020–21, the club's first team had spent 2 seasons in the SPFL and 33 in non-League football (North Junior League and Highland League). The table details their achievements in first-team competitions for each completed season since their first appearance in the Junior League in 1985–86. This list does not include their seasons in local amateur leagues before 1985.

Key[]

Seasons[]

Season League record Scottish Cup League Cup Challenge Cup
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos
1985–86 North Junior League East Two 27 19 6 2 109 31 44 1st — N/A[a] N/A[a]
1986–87 Highland League 34 17 6 11 79 58 57 8th —
1987–88 Highland League 34 14 10 10 67 54 52 10th —
1988–89 Highland League 34 21 6 7 71 38 69 2nd —
1989–90 Highland League 34 17 8 9 72 59 59 6th R1
1990–91 Highland League 34 23 2 9 95 52 71 3rd R3
1991–92 Highland League 34 18 9 7 62 35 63 4th —
1992–93 Highland League 34 23 4 7 78 37 73 2nd R3
1993–94 Highland League 34 20 4 10 89 46 64 4th R2
1994–95 Highland League 30 18 3 9 69 38 57 2nd R3
1995–96 Highland League 30 20 5 5 74 35 65 2nd —
1996–97 Highland League 30 15 5 10 84 47 50 7th —
1997–98 Highland League 30 19 4 7 100 39 61 4th —
1998–99 Highland League 30 16 5 9 88 48 53 7th —
1999–2000 Highland League 30 12 6 12 81 54 42 8th —
2000–01 Highland League 26 20 3 3 74 32 63 1st R2
2001–02 Highland League 28 12 7 9 72 60 43 6th —
2002–03 Highland League 28 14 7 7 69 46 49 4th R2
2003–04 Highland League 28 7 6 15 45 61 27 10th —
2004–05 Highland League 28 16 4 8 59 44 52 6th R2
2005–06 Highland League 28 12 6 10 55 46 42 8th R2
2006–07 Highland League 28 13 6 9 52 36 45 6th —
2007–08 Highland League 28 19 7 2 85 33 64 1st R4
2008–09 Highland League 28 22 4 2 96 26 70 1st R3
2009–10 Highland League 34 23 6 5 97 42 75 2nd R3
2010–11 Highland League 34 22 5 7 100 43 71 3rd R3
2011–12 Highland League 34 23 7 4 92 33 76 2nd R2
2012–13 Highland League 34 25 5 4 101 26 80 1st R3
2013–14 Highland League 34 16 7 11 91 62 55 7th R2
2014–15 Highland League 34 22 7 5 103 40 73 3rd R2
2015–16 Highland League 34 29 2 3 98 28 89 1st[b] R4
2016–17 Highland League 34 25 7 2 109 30 82 2nd R2 Group [c] R2[d]
2017–18 Highland League 34 29 3 2 127 22 90 1st[e] R5 N/A[a] R3[d]
2018–19 Highland League promoted 34 30 3 1 100 12 93 1st[f] R2 Group[g] R1[d]
2019–20 SPFL League Two promoted 28 22 2 4 76 34 68 1st[h] R2 Group R3
2020–21 SPFL League One 22 10 6 6 28 18 36 3rd[i] R3 Group Not held[7]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c As members of the Highland Football League, Cove Rangers were not eligible to participate in the League Cup or Challenge Cup.
  2. ^ Lost in the League Two play-off semi-final to Edinburgh City, 4–1 on aggregate.
  3. ^ Cove qualify for the Scottish League Cup as 2015–16 Highland League champions.
  4. ^ a b c Cove qualify for the Scottish Challenge Cup as one of the Highland League's top 4 teams from the previous season.
  5. ^ Beat The Spartans 5–2 on aggregate in the semi-final before losing 3–2 on aggregate to Cowdenbeath in the League Two play-off final.
  6. ^ Promoted to Scottish League Two via the play-offs, beating East Kilbride 5–1 on aggregate in the semi-final and Berwick Rangers 7–0 on aggregate in the final.
  7. ^ Cove qualify for the Scottish League Cup as 2017–18 Highland League champions.
  8. ^ The 2019–20 Scottish League Two was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with league positions, promotions and relegations decided on a points-per-game basis.
  9. ^ Lost in the Championship play-off semi-final to Airdrieonians, 4–3 on aggregate.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Cove Rangers". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ^ "The Rules and Regulations of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). Scottish Professional Football League. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Edinburgh City 1 - 1 Cove Rangers: City win Pyramid play-off". The Scotsman. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  4. ^ Crawford, Kenny (12 May 2018). "Cowdenbeath 3-2 Cove Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Berwick Rangers 0-3 Cove Rangers". BBC Sport. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  6. ^ Durent, Jamie (16 April 2020). "How Cove Rangers went from SPFL new boys to League 2 champions". Evening Express. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Scottish Challenge Cup cancelled for season 2020-21". BBC Sport. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
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