Fightback claims all three points

Andrew Cowie • Published 24 Mar 2010 07:00 0 Comments

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Cowden marksman Paul McQuade.

Cowdenbeath 3, Clyde 1.

AFTER a very tame opening quarter of the game, Cowdenbeath battled back to claim all three Barrs Irn Bru Second Division points from Clyde at Central Park on Tuesday night.

The bottom of the league Bully Wee came to make life difficult for the promotion chasing Blues and got off to a flyer of a start with a goal in only 60 seconds.

They continued to play a standard of football which belied their lowly status but gradually Cowdenbeath took a grip of midfield.

This saw a leveller before the break and in the second period there was no stopping the Cowden push for victory.

The central midfield duo of Darren McGregor and John Robertson eventually controlled the match and their promptings gave wingers Mark Ramsay and Jay Stein the ammunition to pepper the Clyde defence with a variety of crosses.

Without suspended Gareth Wardlaw the attack looked a little lacking in sharpness but Paul McQuade came on to a good game and laid on one goal and scored a brace.

Veteran Craig Winter was also an absentee for the home side with Robertson the replacement but the re-shaped squad were a goal down in only sixty seconds.

from the kick-off Clyde took possession and a chip forward was nodded down by John Stewart to Jordan WHITE and the youngster cleverly held off John Armstrong and Scott Linton before whipping a low shot into the net from 15 yards.

Two minutes later Willie Sawyers sent Stewart racing into the box chasing down a good pass and the fleet-footed David Hay raced from his line to save.

cowden were dealt a further blow when Dene Droudge had to limp off after eight minutes with Mark Baxter joining the fray and in 19 minutes McGregor might have done better than head wide from a good position.

But Clyde still carried a threat and on the half-hour a Sawyers header was only inches wide before the Blue Brazil got level.

in 32 minutes Stein whipped a free-kick into the box where the unfortunate White, in trying to clear, only succeeded in deflecting the ball to McQUADE who wasted no time in beating Calum Reidford from eight yards.

The opening part of the second period saw Clyde continue to hold their own and in 61 minutes Alistair Park's cross was headed wide by Sawyers from a good position.

However, three minutes later Cowdenbeath were in front. Ramsay slipped a nice pass to McQuade who raced into the Clyde box before sending a low ball across the face of the goalmouth where ROBERTSON was waiting to turn the ball into the net.

In 70 minutes John Dempster was unlucky to see his cross-cum-shot come back off the bar but sixty seconds later the Fifers tied up the points.

Baxter created the chance with a pin-point cross which was met by the unmarked McQUADE at the far post and his header gave Reidford no chance.

to their credit Clyde never gave up but they just lacked the fire power to get back into the game.

Cowden boss Danny Lennon was pleased with the second-half performance of his side, "We got off to the worst possible start but responded well.

"Some of our final balls in the first-half were poor but we sharpened up after the interval and the goals eventually came."

The manager reported that Droudge and Baxter, who both had to leave the game early, should be fit for Saturday.

Cowdenbeath: Hay; Armstrong, Linton; McGregor, Droudge (Baxter 8), Mbu; Ramsay, McQuade, Dempster (McBride 74), robertson, Stein (Adamson 85). subs not used, Fairbairn and Bower.

Clyde: Reidford; Park, Boyle; Kinniburgh, Lithgow, Wilson (Gramovics 55); White, McLachlan, Stewart (Borisovs 76), Sawyers, Strachan. Subs not used, Cassidy, Staimson and Allan.

Referee-Steven Nicholls. Attendance-303.

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