Home win sets up run of ‘massive’ four games

COWDENBEATH: Own goal foils in-form Ayr keeper as Blue Brazil pressure pays off

Cowdenbeath’s first home win of the year could not have come at a better time.

The narrow success, which should have been more emphatic, sees the Blue Brazil two points ahead of Brechin City and Forfar Athletic. A home win over City this Saturday would put the Fifers in the box seat.

Cowdenbeath should have been three goals clear at the interval. The home side carved out chance after chance in one of their best first-half performances of the season.

Ayr keeper Greg Fleming had a string of top-drawer saves from Lewis Milne twice, De clan M cD aid and Greig Spence, who also hit the bar.

But Fleming’s heroics kept United level at the break, and the irony was that it was an own goal that beat the keeper.

On 54 minutes McDaid’s corner was headed into his own net by Sean McKenzie, who had only been on for Ryan Stevenson for two minutes.

Ayr played a lot better after that and Ross McCrorie and Ross Docherty both hit the Cowden bar, but the Blues held on.

Cowden player/boss Colin Nish was delighted with the way his team tackled Ayr. “In the first-half we were excellent and created enough chances to be well clear at the interval,” he said.

“The Ayr keeper had four or five superb saves and, had a couple of these gone in, we could have been out of sight.

“It was strange that when we did get a goal it was an OG.

“But to be fair to Ayr, after that they came right back into the game and we had to defend well in the closing stages of the game.”

Looking ahead, Nish added: “We have four massive games left and we have to look to win them all.

“The only way we can get to a very safe position is if we keep on winning and that has to be our aim, starting with Brechin this coming Saturday.”

Ayr United boss Ian McCall felt his team’s late fightback could have earned a point for his side: “Cowdenbeath were excellent in the first 45 minutes and Greg Fleming kept us in it.

“However, after we lost the goal we played a lot better and had chances to take something from the game.

“Looking at the whole 90 minutes, though, we have to do better than that,” he added.

Picture: SNS. Denied by the woodwork: Greig Spence hit the bar.