Stenhousemuir end Cove Rangers unbeaten start to season

A thrilling first half set up Stenhousemuir to grab all three points against top of the table Cove Rangers, ending their winning streak.
Stenhousemuir boss Davie Irons saw his side stun Cove RangersStenhousemuir boss Davie Irons saw his side stun Cove Rangers
Stenhousemuir boss Davie Irons saw his side stun Cove Rangers

Cove arrived at Ochilview unbeaten in the league and on the back of six straight wins.

And they got off to the perfect start just two minutes into the match, taking the lead through Jamie Masson. In a stunning move, Masson started it off by coming inside from the left before fining Chris Antonaizzi on the right wing; his cross into the back-post was put on a plate for Masson, who tapped in the opener.

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However, Stenny responded quickly, with David Marsh equalising just six minutes later. Mark McGuigan attacked the right channel, before his looping ball met his strike partner David Hopkirk at the far post, who squared it for the oncoming Marsh who couldn’t miss from a yard or two from goal.

It was end-to-end stuff from here, but neither team could find the killer pass, until Stenny skipper Andy Munro found an excellent pass between Cove’s defence, with Hopkirk nipping between two bodies before slotting the ball underneath the oncoming keeper.

On the stroke of half-time, Stenny established a two-goal cushion from the penalty spot, as Cove’s Scott Ross pulled down McGuigan on the goal line, and McGuigan dispatched to send the teams into the dressing rooms at 3-1.

The second half was less eventful though, with Cove having all of the possession, without being able to find the finish.

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Substitute Martin Scott latched onto an excellent ball from Fraser Fyvie, but his shot from 12 yards was brilliantly stopped by an on-rushing Graeme Smith between the Stenny sticks.

Cove did pull one back later on, with the ball being worked wide to substitute, Fraser Aird, whose superb ball met the head of Scott, who finished on this occasion, with a great header which nestled in the far corner.

It wasn’t enough in the end for Cove, as Stenny took the win after what was an outstanding overall performance by Davie Irons’ men.