Late goal adds to woes of frustrated Cowden

When you are bottom of League Two and facing a battle for SPFL survival, luck doesn’t come looking for you, as Cowdenbeath boss Gary Bollan discovered on Saturday.

The Fifers more than matched play-off hopefuls Elgin at Borough Briggs but lost out to a scrappy goal in the closing minutes.

Add a red card for Kyle Miller and an injury to Ross County loan signing Blair Malcolm and you can understand Bollan’s frustration.

He disputed Miller’s sending off seconds after half-time but praised his team’s display, insisting he remains confident that victories are not far away.

“We need a bit of good fortune and when you’re at the bottom you don’t get that. But we’ve got to try and make our own luck.

“Performances have been good, we are not far off and you can see every game we’ve had has been really close. We are not far off, I think the three points are just around the corner.”

Neither side got a sniff of goal in the first 45 minutes as two wellmarshalled defences dominated.

However’s Miller’s booking for a foul in first half stoppage time proved crucial when the midfielder brought down Elgin’s Scott Smith almost straight from kickoff after the break, and ref Steven Kirkland brought out the red card.

“With 11 men on the park it may have been different,” Bollan said. “For the first booking, Kyle Miller actually wins the ball .

“So that has had an effect, obviously, on his sending off and I’m really unhappy with that.”

Even a man short the visitors came close to taking the lead when full-back Harvey Swann swerved a low effort through a crowded goalmouth and just past the post on 55 minutes.

Cowden were also taking the game forward through youngster Jack Whittaker, who came on as sub midway through the first half when Malcolm limped off.

Elgin’s desperation showed when they threw on all three subs before the halfway point of the second half, but it seemed as though the Fifers would hold on for a deserved point.

However, with five minutes left, the home side won a corner and from Thomas Reilly’s kick, centreback Cammy Eadie forced the ball home.