Stranraer 0, Cowdenbeath 3.

Ladbrokes League One

Attendance-345.

A SUPERB result for Cowdenbeath and very much needed to improve their position in the lower reaches of the table.

It was a comprehensive win with the Blues dominating possession and hitting the net three times plus recording only their second shut-out of the campaign.

And it was no hit on the break from Cowden as they dominated long spells of the game and always looked capable of stretching the margin between the sides.

The result was built on a solid team performance from a defensive point of view. Jamie Sneddon was again excellent in goals but he received good cover from his colleagues throughout the game.

The midfield had the same shape as the previous weeks and was in complete control. Kyle Miller again made some excellent passes and along with Andy Murdoch kept sniping away at their Stranraer counterparts.

Dean Brett was always prominent on the right hand side for Cowdenbeath while Liam Callaghan did a similar job on the other side and it meant that Gordon Smith and Greig Spence saw plenty of the ball.

All in all, for the small band of travelling fans it was a result and performance worth waiting for.

Cowden forced a series of corners in the early stages and from one of the them the opener came in only 10 minutes.

Murdoch sent the ball over to the right hand side of the home side’s six yard box and there was Brad DONALDSON, in almost the same place as the previous week when he scored against Stenny, and his header gave Dave McGurn no chance.

Cowdenbeath kept pushing forward but Stranraer came back at them for a spell and Mark McGuigan forced Sneddon into a fine save when he got clear of the Cowden cover.

Towards the break Cowden’s corner count mounted and they started the second period positively and in 57 minutes hit number two. Donaldson slung the ball across the home box and Spence’s knock down found MILLER who fired a left foot shot into the bottom corner.

Stranraer struggled to really pose Sneddon any problems and as the game went into the last quarter the Blues were seeking the killer third.

Robbie Buchanan came on for Smith and six minutes from time the goal came. Brett was able to create the danger with some good work an d BUCHANAN was in the perfect position to shoot low into the net with his left peg.

There was was still time for another sub, Craig Johnston to go close to grabbing a fourth but it was a fine performance from Cowdenbeath.

Stranraer: McGurn (6); Robertson (5) (Aitken 67 (3)), Keenan (5); Mair (6), Rumsby (5), Pettigrew (6); Cairney (6) (Turner 72 (2)), Thomson (6), Longworth (6) (McGill 63 (3)), McGuigan (5), Stirling (5). Subs not used, Barron, McLoskey, Currie and Samson.

Cowdenbeath: Jamie Sneddon (7); Brad Donaldson (7), Kenny Adamson (7); Pat Scullion (7), Ali El Zubaidi (7), Kyle Miller (9) (Chris Kane 86 (3)); Dean Brett (7), Andy Murdoch (7), Greig Spence (8) (Craig Johnston 82 (3)), Gordon Smith (7) (Robbie Buchanan 78 (3)), Liam Callaghan (7). Subs not used, Declan Hughes, Sam Orritt, Mo Yakub and Shaun Hunter.

Referee-John McKendrick (6).