Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Joins Cove Rangers in Scottish League One, and judged worthy of his own thread. Big unit.

Cove relegated to League One on GD, after being equal on points with Hamilton Academical in the Championship.

https://coverangersfc.com/2023/06/13/will-gillingham-joins-cove/
Our second signing of the day, and fourth of the summer, is six foot-four inch central defender, Will Gillingham.

Will was born in London, but his family relocated to New Zealand at an early age, and he developed his love for the game growing up in Auckland.

The twenty-four year old then secured a college place in California, turning out regularly for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos ahead of signing a professional contract with US League One side Central Valley Fuego.

He moved to Scotland earlier this year, spending some time training with Livingston, and says he is delighted to have joined Cove Rangers on a two-year full-time deal:

“I just felt the time was right to make this move. I was born here, and I see Britain as the home of football, and I always wanted to play here.

“I got a really good grounding playing college football in the States, it was a great experience, and I learned so much there working with many different people. I’m confident that has put me in a good place, and I’m now ready for the next stage of my career.”
Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
From Flying Kiwis.
https://youtu.be/ZiPoXNqxCuQ

Say hello to a new member of the club. Will Gillingham is a 24 year old defender, born in London but raised in Auckland after his family relocated when he was seven years old. He moved away as a late-teenager to attend university in America at UC Santa Barbara and also sprinkled in some lower division USL stuff while he was there. After five years in the States he decided to head back to the United Kingdom where he trained with Livingston for a couple of months, a Scottish Premiership club, though ultimately didn’t get signed. But now he’s landed a two-year deal at Cove Rangers in the Scottish third tier.

That’s the same division that George Stanger played at with Alloa Athletic (before he transferred to Ayr United one tier up the pyramid) so far from the worst place to land. Particularly as Cove Rangers just got relegated after finishing last in the Championship which hopefully means that they’ll be quite competitive in this division.
The relegation was a rough one. Cove Rangers went into the final game of the season a point ahead of Hamilton Academical, which would’ve gotten them into the playoffs to avoid the drop, but they lost and ended up last. But don’t let that fool you: this is club on the rise. They’ve been soaring up the divisions after years outside the league pyramid. The Championship stint may have come a little too soon for them but with that experience in the bank they’ll be planning on getting right back there in a hurry. Cove Rangers’ recent seasons have seen gone...

2018-19: Promoted as winners of the Highland League
2019-20: Promoted as winners of League Two
2020-21: Lost in League One promotion playoffs (after finishing third)
2021-22: Promoted as winners of League One
2022-23: Relegated from the Championship

As for Will Gillingham, fun fact is that he was in the same Sacred Heart High School team as Alex Greive back in the day while Danny Hay was still coaching them. Now Greive and Gillingham are both playing professionally in Scotland.
Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Made his Scottish League One debut on the weekend as Cove Rangers lost 1-0 at George Stanger's old SPL club Hamilton Academical.

Soccerway has him under an English flag.
https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2023/08/05/scotland/second-division/hamilton-academicals-fc/cove-rangers-football-club/4104653/

23 yr old Aussie GK Nick Suman who had a few seasons at WSW & Macarther (11 ALM games in total) on the bench for Cove Rangers.

Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Cove Rangers 6th of 10 teams in Scottish League One (3rd tier) after 9 games. Gillingham with 7 games (6 starts).

Nick Suman has been the starting keeper last 5 matches.
Starting XI
3K
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3.1K
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almost 7 years
Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Cove Rangers are 3rd in Scottish League One (3rd tier).
William Finbar Gillingham has become a regular starter, suiting up in 13 of 16 L1 matches to date.

https://us.soccerway.com/players/william-finbar-gillingham/827845/

Edit - poster's curse. First half, came off injured overnight in a 7-2 win over Edinburgh City.

Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Cove Rangers travel to 5th tier Brora Rangers (Highland/Lowland League) in the Scottish Cup. Cove Rangers still 3rd in League One.
https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2024/01/20/scotland/scottish-cup/brora-rangers-football-club/cove-rangers-football-club/4272963/
Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Game postponed due to frozen pitch.
Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Big game for Gillingham's Cove Rangers, a trip to SPL side Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup. CR currently 3rd in League One (3rd tier), no chance of automatic promotion but in the playoff hunt.
https://au.soccerway.com/matches/2024/02/10/scotland/scottish-cup/kilmarnock-fc/cove-rangers-football-club/4307950/
Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Full game in a 2-0 loss
Legend
11K
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22K
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almost 9 years
Cove Rangers (4th, 46 pts, in a battle with Alloa Athletic (3rd,48 pts) & Montrose (5th, 46 pts) for two promotion playoff spots 3rd & 4th. Scottish League One (3rd tier).

Gillingham has started of 17 of 31 CR matches. 

https://us.soccerway.com/national/scotland/second-division/20232024/regular-season/r75487/

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