Cowdenbeath to treat game against Cove as cup final

It’s a winner-takes-all affair at Central Park

Cowdenbeath host Cove Rangers in the second leg of their pyramid play-off final and Blue Brazil manager Gary Bollan is hoping that his team rises to the challenge of keeping their place in senior football.

The Central Park side returned south last Saturday having secured a goalless draw with the only satisfaction for Bollan being that his players can reach a far higher level of performance than they produced at Inverurie.

With the stakes so high, Cowdenbeath cannot afford another off day.

It is “winner takes all” and loser – well that scenario doesn’t bear thinking about.

Bollan said: “We can’t just treat this game as a cup tie – we have to treat it as a cup final.

“It is a winner-takes-all affair now and we have to play in that manner.

“It was a hard game last weekend and this will be a hard game as well, however, we will be looking to play a lot better than we did in that first meeting.

“We are capable of being a good side and we showed that towards the end of the season. We need to hit that level of performance again.”

Bollan added: “Playing as poorly as we did and coming home with a clean sheet was not the worst outcome we could have had but we know that we have our goalkeeper David Mcgurn to thank for that.

“We knew that Cove had good qualities before the tie and they showed them particularly when it came to creating chances. They did that regularly whereas we never showed what we could do going forward.

“There are no surprises now other than us knowing that we can play better than we did.”

The Fifers’ boss reckons that a quiet determination in their dressing room will see Cowdenbeath survive.

He said: “The players were a bit down on Tuesday night in training as they knew they had not played well in a big game.

“However that has made them all the more determined to rectify that.”

Fraser Mullen returns from suspension to give Bollan a full squad to choose from with the exception of the long-term injured, Joe Mcgovern and Ryan Connelly.

Meanwhile, Cove manager John Sheran insists his players are ready for their date with destiny as the Highland League champions bid to win promotion to the SPFL.

Cove can make history this afternoon by being the first Highland league club to gain admission to League Two via the pyramid system.

In the past, four other clubs, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, an amalgam of Caledonian and Inverness Thistle, Ross County, Peterhead and Elgin City had all to apply to secure their place in what was then the Scottish League.

Sheran said: “We have enjoyed the week’s rest without a game, but equally everyone now just wants to get the game on. The boys are already fired up and want to get playing and we will certainly be ready.

“It’s still all to play for. It would have been nice to have a lead after last Saturday’s first leg at Harlaw Park but before the game I would have been happy with a 0-0 draw.

“I believe when we play down there tomorrow it isn’t going to affect us or bother us in any way as we have played more than 160 games away from home over the last three seasons.

“We know the pitch will be difficult but it is the same for both teams. I want our boys to focus on their performance, and if we can put on a good one I think the rest will take care of itself.

If Sheran and his men were to make history and progress to League 2, the Cove manager believes any plaudits should not be directed in his direction, all the glory should go to others, when he added: “It’s all about the club and the players.”