Cove Rangers F.C.
Senior Scottish club based in Altens, Aberdeen.
Cove Rangers Football Club is a senior Scottish football club based in the Altens area of Aberdeen. They play at Balmoral Stadium, having moved from their former home at Allan Park, Cove Bay in April 2015.
Quick Facts
- Club
- Cove Rangers
- Full name
- Cove Rangers Football Club
- Nickname
- The Toonsers
- Founded
- 1922
- Ground
- Balmoral Stadium, Altens, Aberdeen
- Capacity
- 2,602 (410 seated)
- Chairman
- Keith Moorhouse
- Manager
- Paul Hartley
Facts from the source article.
History
Cove Rangers Football Club began in 1922, competing in local amateur leagues before turning junior in 1985. A year later, they joined the senior Highland Football League, where they remained for 33 seasons. Their first Highland League title came in 2001, part of a treble that also included the Aberdeenshire Shield and Scottish Qualifying Cup. During the 2007–08 campaign, they made club history by reaching the Scottish Cup’s fourth round for the first time, beating Brora Rangers, Keith, and Edinburgh University before falling 4–2 to Ross County.
That same season, on 3 May 2008, a 3–0 home victory over Lossiemouth secured their second Highland League championship. When Gretna left the Scottish Football League in June 2008, Cove was one of four applicants for the vacant spot, but Annan Athletic got the nod thanks to better facilities. Midfielder Paul Coutts, who moved to Peterborough United in summer 2008, was named the club’s Young Player of the Year for 2008–09 and later earned eight caps for Scotland’s under-21 side.
In 2016, Cove regained the Highland League title. They then faced Lowland League winner Edinburgh City in a promotion play-off, losing 4–1 on aggregate. The 2018–19 season brought their first promotion to SPFL League Two, after a 7–0 aggregate play-off win over Berwick Rangers.
Stadium
For decades, Cove Rangers called Allan Park home, a ground built on land bought from a local farmer in 1948. The stadium could hold 2,300 people, with just 200 seated, and its record crowd of 2,100 turned up for a 2008–09 league playoff win over Deveronvale. In 2010, Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne reportedly purchased the ground, but a plan to build a new shared stadium and training base fell through when the city council rejected the application.
The club’s final match at Allan Park came in April 2015, a 4-0 win over Fort William, after planning permission finally moved forward. The site, along with the adjoining social club, was sold to housing developers for around £3 million. Cove then built Balmoral Stadium in Altens, next to a new secondary school formed from the merger of Kincorth and Torry Academies; as part of the deal, the school gained access to the artificial pitch. While construction was underway, Cove played at Inverurie Loco Works’ ground.
They moved into Balmoral Stadium in July 2018, but the first match there was cut short when a Cove player suffered a serious injury.
More in Scottish Professional Football League Teams
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced