Graham treble as Ross County crush Cove Rangers in Betfred Cup
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ROSS County finished their disappointing Betfred Cup campaign with a crushing 7-0 victory against 10-man Highland League champions Cove Rangers today (Saturday).
Dutchman Alex Schalk put the Staggies on the road to victory with a goal in a first half which also saw Mitch Megginson red-carded.
Early second half goals from Brian Graham and Schalk had County coasting and the job was rounded off by a Graham header, a brace from sub Craig Curran and Graham again for his treble.
The holders sensationally crashed out of the competition at League One Alloa in midweek and boss Jim McIntyre made three changes for this one, seven days before they kick off their Ladbrokes Premiership season at home to Dundee.
Irish keeper Aaron McCarey made his competitive debut in the nets for the Staggies, with defenders Andrew Davies and Kenny van der Weg back in.
Goalkeeper Scott Fox dropped to the bench, with Richard Foster and Chris Robertson missing out completely.
The scene was a far cry from when the Dingwall side won the final in March against Hibs for their historic first-ever major trophy triumph as plenty of early seats around the ground showed the lack of importance in this game.
However, it was a decent enough start to this tie, with crosses from Michael Gardyne and Schalk keeping the visitors on their toes, while Cove also showed they were not afraid to get forward.
Graham, part of the three-man attack with Liam Boyce and Schalk, headed wide after 13 minutes when he met another Gardyne delivery.
He was denied again moments later when Darryn Kelly slid in to deny him at the front post as County knocked at the door.
And that door opened on 24 minutes when a van der Weg cross from the left was swept stylishly into the net by last season's cup clinching player Schalk.
The goal had been coming and McIntyre would be looking to add to this before the break.
However, Megginson almost hauled Cove level when he stepped in from the left and swept a low drive past McCarey's post.
Cove's task became much tougher on 34 minutes when Megginson went right through Schalk with a reckless challenge, forcing referee Mat Northcroft to issue a straight red card. The nature of the foul sparked an angry reaction from the home team.
Four minutes later, County's Martin Woods hit the post with a low effort just before Gardyne flashed a shot over the top.
Just before half-time, visiting keeper Stuart McKenzie pulled off a fine diving save to deny Schalk, who met a Boyce pass with a powerful overhead kick.
Ten-man Cove would have gone in at the break reasonably happy with their display and the scoreline just being 1-0, while the Premiership side needed to be more ruthless in the second half.
It took only two minutes for their advantage to be doubled after the break when Schalk fed the ball to Graham and he superbly steered a high shot into the roof of the net from eight yards.
And the tie was put to bed in the next minute when Schalk poked the ball into the net from close range from a corner.
On 56 minutes, Graham added another when he stooped to guide a header into the net when he connected with a van der Weg cross.
Ten minutes later, it was five when, from a swift Christopher Routis throw-in, sub Curran hooked the ball over McKenzie into the net for a cool finish.
Goal number six arrived on 81 minutes when clever play from Boyce saw him place the ball on a plate for Curran, who tapped it home before Graham claimed his hat-trick with a minute to go with another header.
So County finished mid-table in their group, with Alloa winning it thanks to their 1-0 win today at Raith Rovers, who take second spot.
Ross County: McCarey, McEveley, Gardyne (Dingwall 53), Boyce, Schalk (Curran 60), van der Weg, Davies, Woods (McShane 58), Graham, Quinn, Routis. Subs not used: Fox (GK), Franks, Dingwall, McLaughlin.
Cove Rangers: McKenzie, Redford, Milne, Yule, Walker, Kelly, Scully (McCulloch 66), Burnett, Megginson, Jonathan Smith (Park 58), Buchan (McBain 50). Subs not used: McCaffrey (GK), Donaldson, Watson, Stirling Smith.
Referee: Matt Northcroft.
Attendance: 722.
