"PARKING THE bus" is a well-known football phrase but Cowdenbeath couldn’t get theirs going on the way to a vital relegation match at Stranraer.

They'll hope for better luck in tonight's game after players were left on the hard shoulder on Saturday waiting for a replacement bus and the secretary was frantically trying to buy boots for the team as the luggage compartment wouldn’t open. 

They eventually arrived just an hour before kick-off and, to compound matters, the referee refused a request for the match to be delayed for 15 minutes and Cowden went on to lose 1-0. 

The result has plunged them into a two-leg play-off with Queen’s Park, the first leg of which is tonight (Wednesday) and, if they lose, they’ll be relegated. 

Director Malcolm Slora admitted: “No one could believe it and it felt like a bad omen before such an important match. 

“The bus died on us just before Eaglesham Moor and the consequence of that was all the electrics failed, so we couldn’t open the boot to get all the players’ kit out. 

“There was just nothing when the driver turned the key, we had to use an emergency release just to open the doors and let the players out of the bus.  

“We sent for a mechanic and a new bus from East Kilbride but we’d lost about an hour by that stage and the problems just mounted.

“It meant we couldn’t get to the hotel for the pre-match meal and we had to stop at a BP petrol station, there was an M&S shop there, and buy cold wraps to eat on the bus.

“We still didn’t know how we would get the players’ kit out of the boot either.”

Secretary Alex Anderson had travelled ahead with the team strips and was paying the hotel at Ballantrae for the pre-match meal when the bad news came through. 

He said: “We had the strips but, because of the electrical shutdown, they had to set off on the replacement bus without the players boots. 

“I’m running about trying to find out where in Stranraer I can buy boots and shinguards for the whole squad but luckily the original bus was repaired and caught up with them so the players could get their kit. 

“If it hadn’t turned up it would have been panic stations.”

Mr Anderson added: “The hotel we use, it’s got a snooker room, a dart board, the players get a hot pre-match meal and are totally relaxed and ready for the game. 

“But they’d had a cold snack on the back of a bus, they’ve arrived at 2pm ahead of a critical game so I spoke to the SPFL about a 15-minute delay as they’d hardly any time to warm up. 

“The ref said there’d be no extension and I just felt so annoyed.  

“You can bet if it happened to Celtic, Rangers, Hibs or Hearts, they would have got the kick-off put back.

"It’s not unheard of for matches to kick off late, due to a big crowd or travel disruption or whatever, but the wee clubs never get that type of decision. 

"It’s so unfair.”