Formed in 1922, Aberdeenshire side Cove Rangers first joined the Highland League in 1986 after spending much of their existence in the Junior ranks.
Since then The Wee Rangers have gone on to lift seven Highland League titles in the past 19 seasons, claiming their first crown back in the 2000/01 campaign.
Managed by former Montrose player John Sheran, the club have big aspirations to reach the SPFL.
Unfortunately, Sheran suffered a heart attack last Sunday and will not take any involvement during the playoffs.
Cove co-manager Graeme Mathieson and first team coach Roy McBain will be in charge on Saturday.
This season they opened their brand new Balmoral Stadium, which is SFA compliant and features an artificial 4G surface, and reached the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
The club have a host of former SPFL players on their books including top scorer Mitchel Megginson, formerly of Aberdeen and Dumbarton, who has netted 46 goals.
Ex-Peterhead players Ryan Strachan and Jordan Brown, as well as former Arbroath and Forfar striker Paul McManus provide a wealth of experience.
They have been formidable all season, scoring 100 goals in 34 league games and conceding 12.
At home this season Cove have claimed victory in all but one of their 17 games, while on the road they have only failed to win on three occasions.
Check out their full home and away statistics below.
Like East Kilbride, Cove know the pain of losing to Cowdenbeath in a playoff final. Last season they lost 3-2 to the Blue Brazil on aggregate and had three players sent off in stoppage time.
This is their third crack at promotion through the playoffs.
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Sheran interview
The East Kilbride News spoke to Cove boss John Sheran last week before he took ill. Here is what he had to say on the game with Kilby:
Cove Rangers boss John Sheran insists discipline won’t be an issue against East Kilbride as they bid to banish the demons of last season’s ill-tempered final with Cowdenbeath.
Sheran saw three players sent off in stoppage time after a mass brawl erupted in their 3-2 aggregate defeat to the Blue Brazil.
Sheran claimed they had been “cheated” after a foul on in the build-up to the winning goal wasn’t given and also said the referee was “biased towards Cowdenbeath”.
As they venture into the play-offs for the first time since those ugly scenes at Central Park last May, Sheran said: “In no way am I worried about discipline.
“My views on that situation have been well-documented.
“In 40 years in football I’ve never seen anything like it.
“We had one red card all of last season until that game and this year the players have not let themselves down at all.
“Discipline is not an issue and I don’t expect what happened last year to be replicated.”
Kilby and Cove have a mutual bond having both seen their promotion dreams crushed by Cowden at the final hurdle, with EK defeated on penalties in 2017.
The good news for the sides is that either Albion Rovers or Berwick Rangers will await the victors of the semi-final in this season’s crack at the SPFL. But Sheran believes it shouldn’t have to reach that stage.
He said: “We’ve both lost to Cowdenbeath, but I think the mutual bond we have is suffering the unfairness of the situation – which is that Club 42 [the bottom side in League Two] doesn’t get bombed out of the league.
“Both ourselves and East Kilbride are capable of playing in the Scottish leagues.
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“A lot of people have been telling us East Kilbride will be the tougher of the games to go up, but they are all tough when you get to this stage.
“We’ve had to grind out results over the last few weeks, so the boys are used to that.
“We know EK are an excellent team full of good players who have a lot of experience, so I’m sure it will be a good game.”
East Kilbride v Cove Rangers: Woods out to make amends in playoffs
