Cowdenbeath 1, Albion Rovers 2.

Ladbrokes League One

Attendance-292.

 

A CONTROVERSIAL goal seconds into the second period cost Cowdenbeath a point in last night’s Ladbrokes League One match clash at Central Park.

Rovers’ Scott McBride looked well off-side when he netted what proved to be the winner.

It was a result which handicapped the Fifers’ hopes of mounting a challenge for the promotion play-offs.

However, there was plenty of time left for the Blues to get back in to the game but their hopes disappeared on a glue pot surface at the west end of the pitch.

The other end of the park was in much better nick so it looks as if there could be a drainage problem at the Rowan Terrace end.

Cowden had plenty of the ball but never really were able to carve out enough good openings.

Winger Declan McDaid was an example of the problem. He posed Albion all sorts of concerns in the first-half but found it hard to make an impact after the break.

The Blues, however, gave away a cheap early goal and it hindered their plans to record their first win of 2016.

Cowden forced the first corner of the game in 30 seconds and Rovers managed to keep it out thanks to strong work by Michael Dunlop who beat Paut Scullion to McDaid’s set piece.

Rovers got going in 11 minutes when Ross Davidson found Paul Archibald but the outrushing Granjt Adam raced from his line to smother the ball at the striker’s feet.

However, two minutes later the visitors went ahead. After Brad Donaldson failed to clear a simple pass into the Cowdenbeath box the ball broke to Scott McBride and the former Blue Brazilian fired a 12 yard shot high into the net.

The goal perked Rovers up and they had spells of pressure but in 25 minutes a Kieran Gibbons shot hit Dunlop and the ball roared inches wide then from McDaid’s corner Scullion headed just past Ross Stewart’s right hand post.

But the goal was only delayed and two minutes later Scullion met Dean Brett’s free kick and his header fell perfectly for Greig Spence and he shot home from six yards out.

Then in 32 minutes the Fifers threatened again when Spence laid the ball back to McDaid and his 25 yarder was saved by the diving Stewart.

The sides were level at the break but two minutes into the second period Albion went ahead with a  hotly disputed goal. The scorer McBride looked to be at least two yards off-side when he received the ball from Gary Fisher but wasted no time in blasting a ten yarder high into the net.

All the Cowdenbeath players surrounded the linesman but he was not for turning and the strike stood.

Rovers again gained in confidence and Davidson went through and Adam could only save the midfielder’s effort at the second attempt.

Cowden had a spell of pressure without really working Stewart in the Rovers’ goal and as the game started to get very scrappy on the heavy surface the nearest to a goal came from Albion substitute Andy Barrowman with a header which just cleared the bar.

 

Cowdenbeath: Grant Adam (6); Brad Donaldson (6) (Craig Johnston 63 (3)), Kenny Adamson (6); Pat Scullion (6), Fraser Kerr (6), Chris Kane (6) (Jack Beaumont 78 (3)); Dean Brett (7), Kieran Gibbons (6) (Lewis Milne 70 (3)), Greig Spence (7), Ross Caldwell (6). Subs not used, Mo Yakub, Ali El Zubaidi, Declan Hughes, and Ali Roman.

Albion Rovers: Stewart (7); Talu (6), Turnbull (6); Fisher (6), R Dunlop (7), M Dunlop (7); Ferry (6) (Petrie 67 (3)), Davidson (7), Archibald (6) (Barrowman 76 (3)), McBride (8), Love (7) (Reid 88 (2)). Subs not used: Young, McRobbie, Georgiev, and Lochhead.

Referee-Kevin Graham (6).