List of Cove Rangers F.C. seasons

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, drawn 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 2019–20, the club's first team had spent one seasons in the fourth tier of Scottish football and 33 in non-League football (fifth tier). The table details their achievements in first-team competitions for each completed season since their first appearance in the Highland League in 1986–87. This list does not include their seasons in local amateur leagues before 1986.

Key

Seasons
Season League record Scottish Cup League Cup Challenge Cup
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos
1986–87 Highland League3417611795857 8th— N/A[lower-alpha 1] N/A[lower-alpha 1]
1987–88 Highland League34141010675452 10th—
1988–89 Highland League342167713869 2nd—
1989–90 Highland League341789725959 6th R1
1990–91 Highland League342329955271 3rd R3
1991–92 Highland League341897623563 4th—
1992–93 Highland League342347783773 2nd R3
1993–94 Highland League3420410894664 4th R2
1994–95 Highland League301839693857 2nd R3
1995–96 Highland League302055743565 2nd—
1996–97 Highland League3015510844750 7th—
1997–98 Highland League3019471003961 4th—
1998–99 Highland League301659884853 7th—
1999–2000 Highland League3012612815442 8th—
2000–01 Highland League262033743263 1st R2
2001–02 Highland League281279726043 6th—
2002–03 Highland League281477694649 4th R2
2003–04 Highland League287615456127 10th—
2004–05 Highland League281648594452 6th R2
2005–06 Highland League2812610554642 8th R2
2006–07 Highland League281369523645 6th—
2007–08 Highland League281972853364 1st R4
2008–09 Highland League282242962670 1st R3
2009–10 Highland League342365974275 2nd R3
2010–11 Highland League3422571004371 3rd R3
2011–12 Highland League342374923376 2nd R2
2012–13 Highland League3425541012680 1st R3
2013–14 Highland League3416711916255 7th R2
2014–15 Highland League3422751034073 3rd R2
2015–16 Highland League342923982889 1st[lower-alpha 2] R4
2016–17 Highland League3425721093082 2nd R2
2017–18 Highland League3429321272290 1st[lower-alpha 3] R5
2018–19 Highland League 3430311001293 1st[lower-alpha 4] R2
2019–20 SPFL League Two 282224763468 1st[lower-alpha 5] R2GroupR3

Notes
  1. 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. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

References
  1. "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.
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