42

Links Park

Saturday 25^th October 2025

This week I’d planned for another team and ground that Gordon was keen to visit with me so after my recent solo trip to Peterhead I knew that I would have company this time. I had looked to see whether there was interest in another Banchory Cricket Club day out but for a variety of reasons everyone else was busy and not able to join us. In all honesty this wasn’t the most appealing fixture so I couldn’t really blame them for finding another way to spend their Saturday afternoon.

Montrose were hosting Cove Rangers who I would be seeing again after visiting them for the first game of the 42. I wasn’t particularly impressed with them on that evening but gave them the benefit of the doubt as that was in the KDM Evolution Trophy. Their manager, Paul Hartley, had spoken publicly about his frustration with the format of the competition and the extra demands that this put on teams. I had assumed that their mediocre performance was a result of not prioritising that competition and focusing on the league instead.

Cove Rangers’ start to the league season however suggested that a good run in a cup competition might have been quite helpful for morale though. After ten games they sit bottom of League One, are yet to win a game and have just two points. They are the clear favourites for relegation as they are already five points adrift of Kelty Hearts in ninth place. One of their biggest issues has been actually fielding a team, in some weeks they have only managed to name a single outfield substitute. This is particularly surprising as they’re one of the only full-time teams in a league that is predominantly part-time.

Montrose are one of those part-time teams and unlike Cove Rangers they’ve had an excellent run of results in the KDM Evolution Trophy with five wins from five games. Their league form however has been much more mixed. They currently sit eighth in League One with 11 points from their ten games. Whilst their position in the standings isn’t great they are four points clear of Kelty Hearts and a win today would put them 12 points ahead of Cove Rangers and the automatic relegation spot.

There was one glimmer of hope for Cove Rangers ahead of the game though. The day before the match Montrose announced that their first choice goalkeeper, Cammy Gill, had injured his foot and would miss the fixture. Given how threadbare some of the part-time teams in lower leagure Scottish football can be this meant that an emergency loan was required to bring in Harry Sharp from Dundee. With no other senior goalkeepers on their books Montrose would be fielding a player who would meet his teammates for the first time when he arrived at the ground on matchday. Surely Paul Hartley’s teamtalk to his players would be to test Sharp early and often.

I caught the same Edinburgh bound train as I had for the trip down to Arbroath a few weeks ago and again was joined by Gordon at Stonehaven. With Montrose being one stop prior to Abroath the journey was a little shorter and we arrived a little earlier. This left us with some time to explore Montrose.

As soon as we stepped off the train we both noted that it felt as though Montrose had more going for it generally than Arbroath did. It was already cold and windy at this point so we wrapped up as best we could and looked for somewhere to take cover. Where better to do so and to spend half an hour than Mo’ Fidelity.

I’d read online that Mo’ Fidelity was an excellent vinyl shop and in a brilliant turn of fate had seen that Emma Pollock (formerly of The Delgados) had planned to do an instore performance this afternoon but unfortunately a couple of days ago it had been rearranged for later in the year. Gordon and I set to work rummaging through an incredible depth and breadth of records in our hunt for any gems that caught our eye. The choices were almost endless and the prices, even for new records, were far better than any shop I’ve been in before. I settled on Paul’s Boutique by The Beastie Boys and Sunshine Hit Me by The Bees and Gordon picked up Let’s Get Out Of This Country by Camera Obscura.

Vinyl secured we stopped for a quick drink at The Market Arms, which was your archetypal local pub, before we headed to the ground. The walk from the centre of town was lovely and ended on a picturesque road between some detached Victorian houses and a well kept park. Montrose seemed a really lovely town that would be worth exploring further.

We’d arrived at the ground early and it allowed me time to find a programme and a pin badge before exploring the ground a little to get some photos. Links Park has just one stand but it’s a much more impressive structure than most grounds at this level have. It runs most of the length of the sideline on the south side of the ground and gives a great view of the pitch, the surrounding town, and the Angus hills in the distance. Behind one goal there is a low section of covered terracing and whilst taking some photos here I got my first touch of a ball while going round the 42, returning it to Montrose’s new loan goalkeeper after he had turned it round the post in warm-ups.

My short tour of the ground complete and with a macaroni pie and a cup of tea bought to try and fend off the cold we headed to the stand to find some seats. We opted to get as high up as we could and sat level with the halfway line to get the best view wherever the action was. We watched the end of the warm-ups for both sides and before long the teams were out and ready to get the game underway.

The early stages of the game were characterised by both sides knocking the ball long as a battle for territory took precedence over a willingness to play the ball and build some momentum. The first decent chance fell to the home team when a clearance from the Montrose half split the two Cove centre backs who left the ball for their goalkeeper, Robbie Mutch, who had in turn left the ball for them. Blair Lyons tried to capitalise on the mistake but Mutch recovered and blocked the ball wide for a corner.

Cove had their own good chance a few minutes later when they broke forward quickly down the left hand side of the pitch. The ball was crossed in towards lone striker David Eguiabor who did well to get something on it. It seemed to be heading for the far corner in slow motion but Montrose captain, Andrew Steeves, got back just in time to clear it off the line.

Montrose had a big shout for a penalty on 13′ when it seemed as though Lewis Gibson had been pushed to prevent him getting to the ball with a clear sight of goal. The referee waved away the protests much to the frustration of the fans around us.

The funniest moment of these early stages came when the stadium announcer, who was sat immediately in front of us, spoke on the tannoy to report that he had good news, and bad news. The good news was that if anyone at the game had lost their phone it had been found, the bad news being that it had been run over by a car and they probably didn’t want it back. The shattered iPhone that he held up while saying this looked like it wasn’t going to remain in one piece for much longer.

As the half progressed Montrose settled into their rhythm and were clearly the better side. Lyons, Gibson, and fellow forward Graham Webster all looking creative and threatening. Their solid defence and decisive passing in midfield wasn’t matched by their play up front. Each attack seemed to falter at the final ball however and there were numerous chances to shoot that were quite literally passed up.

This profligacy felt like it might haunt Montrose and so it came to be. Just on the stroke of halftime another Cove Rangers break down the left saw the ball crossed into the box. Eguiabor couldn’t find the space he needed but a couple of quick passes saw the ball reach Layton Bisland on the right hand side of the penalty box. His first time shot was hit low and hard and Harry Sharp had no chance of keeping it out.

Montrose started the second half like a team that knew the next goal would be crucial. They managed a couple of half chances in the first ten minutes of the half but they seemed to be chasing the game rather than relying on the approach that had seen them clearly the better side before the break. After the second of these chances was bundled wide for a goalkick Cove again launched an attack down the left. Winger Adam Emslie beat his man and had plenty of time to pick out Eguiabor with a ball drilled across the six yard box who tapped in to make it 2 – 0.

The goal seemed to take all fight out of Montrose. The creativity and trickery that looked so dangerous in the first half now felt self-indulgent and predictable. There was only ever going to be one team to get another goal the only surprise being how long it took to arrive. Cameron O’Donnell sealed the win with a goal after 73 minutes and in truth Cove could have had a fourth with only a last gasp block from Steeves denying Reuben McAllister.

Montrose did have a chance right at the death when some good work in the box from Gus Stevenson saw him make space for a shot which came back off the post into the path of Lyons who managed to put it over the bar from 6 yards out. Cove managed to seal the win and hold onto only their second clean sheet of the season with a result that, despite their terrible start, leaves them just one win away from escaping the bottom of the table.

We made our way out of the ground and retraced our steps. If we thought it had been cold in the stand it was nothing compared to the temperature as we headed back towards the station and the wide expanse of the Montrose Basin. The wind racing in over the water was botingly cold and we were both grateful when the train arrived so we could escape the local ‘wildlife’ and start to warm up. When I left Gayfield Park and Arbroath a few weeks ago I did so knowing that I would be back, today Gordon said he felt the same about Links Park and Montrose.

The Facts

• Ground
  • Links Park
• Home
  • Montrose
• Away
  • Cove Rangers
• Competition
  • Scottish League One
• Result
  • 0 – 3
• Scorers
  • Layton Bisland, David Eguiabor,
• Attendance
  • 593
• Cost
  • £18
• Total distance travelled
  • 66 miles
• Transport
  • Train
• My MotM
  • Lewis Gibson, another difficult one this week as there were no real standout performances from Montrose. Gibson was announced over the tannoy at the end of the game and I can understand why as he was heavily involved and endlessly creative in the first half. He also struggled to beat the first man when crossing the ball and as the second half went on allowed the game to pass him by. I’ll go with the club’s decision in lieu of any better options though.