Preview Cowdenbeath

Championship P

The Pars season kicked off at Central Park on 27th July and now they return in the Championship play off final. Cowdenbeath have put up a fantastic fight to try and avoid relegation and now all that stands between them and a third successive season in the second tier of Scottish football, is their nearest rivals.  

This is basically a two leg cup final and previously in the 12 cup ties between the teams in the League and Scottish Cups, Cowdenbeath have won only once - in January 1929.  The Ramsden Cup tie this season was won 3-1 by the Pars.  The habit that was to be a characteristic of Dunfermline`s season started that day with them going a goal behind to a Nat Wedderburn goal after just quarter of an hour. Fortunately goals from Callum Morris (36), Ryan Ferguson (64) and Ryan Thomson (79) saw the Pars through to play Raith Rovers. 

Dunfermline`s league record against Cowdenbeath reveals 33 wins and 27 defeats with 14 draws. Recent form had certainly favoured the East End Park side - but when Cowdenbeath won 4-2 at Central Park in February 2013 that ended a wait since August 1977 for a home win over the Pars and was their first over their neighbours since May 1993.

Recent Form

Cowdenbeath are unbeaten in their last five matches and in their last eight home games and it is this record that almost succeeded in avoiding the play offs. They only failed because Queen of the South scored an equaliser deep into time added on at the end of their final league game. Falkirk are the last visiting team to win at Central Park and that was back on 18th January.

Dunfermline have only won one of their last six away matches and have only won three of their last twelve matches and that includes the extra time required to dispose of Stranraer on Saturday.

Last Time Out

DUNFERMLINE (v Stranraer): Ryan Scully; Lewis Martin, Kerr Young, Danny Grainger; Ryan Williamson, Josh Falkingham, Andy Geggan (c)(Shaun Byrne 112), Alex Whittle; Stephen Husband (Ross Forbes 55); Faissal El Bakhtaoui, Ryan Thomson (Allan Smith 76).
SUBS NOT USED: Ryan Goodfellow (GK), Callum Morris, Ross Millen, Lewis Spence.

COWDENBEATH (v Ayr United):  Thomas Flynn; Darren Brownlie,  John Armstrong, Nat Wedderburn, Rory McKeown, Thomas O`Brien (Chris Kane 76), Jon Robertson, Dean Brett, Lewis Milne (Jamie Stevenson 64), Greg Stewart (David Gold, 88), Kane Hemmings
SUBS NOT USED: Kenny Adamson, S Usai, Jordan Morton, Kyle Miller

Chris Kane has gone from Dunfermline to Cowdenbeath since the teams met in July. He joined the Central Park club in January after being released by the Pars.

Ramsden Cup line ups on 27th July 2013

COWDENBEATH: Thomas Flynn; David Cowan (Dean Brett 70), John Armstrong (c), Thomas O`Brien, Kenny Adamson; Nat Wedderburn, Marc McKenzie (Kyle Miller 81), Lewis Milne, Andrew Russell; Greg Stewart (Kane Hemmings 62), Jordan Morton.
SUBS NOT USED: Mark Ramsay, Callum Speedie (GK)

DUNFERMLINE: Ryan Scully; Ross Millen, Kerr Young, Callum Morris, Alex Whittle; Ryan Ferguson (Craig Dargo 71), Shaun Byrne, Chris Kane, Josh Falkingham (c); Ryan Wallace (Faissal El Bakhtaoui, 88), Ryan Thomson 
SUBS NOT USED: John Potter, Ryan Williamson, Michal Hrivnak (GK)

Referee for this match will be Stephen Finnie.