COWDENBEATH face their second successive local derby this weekend when they go to East End Park in the Scottish League Cup first round and it promises to be just as tough a task as last weekend’s encounter with Raith Rovers.

Dunfermline Athletic will be one of the teams Cowden will meet in the SPFL League One this season and they have strengthened their squad during the summer under new manager Allan Johnston.

But Cowden gave Championship side Raith Rovers plenty think about on Saturday and will be looking for a similar performance this weekend.

Player/boss Colin Nish was really happy with the way his team confronted the challenge of playing Rovers and is looking for the same application at Dunfermline.

“There was absolutely nothing in the match and we did well enough for the entire game although we perhaps did not create enough good clear chances,” he reflected after the Raith match.

“We learned plenty from the match which is very encouraging and hopefully we can show exactly the same approach at Dunfermline.

“The application was top notch against Raith and we worked hard to win so many key tackles but if there was to be a down, side we did not really open up their defence on enough occasions.

“Good chances were few and far between for us but then in the game as a whole there were not many clear openings.” The manager was very happy with the play of his front two, Luke Armstrong and Greig Spence, “They worked well together as a pair but we did not get enough opportunities created for them, for if we had I feel they could have hurt Rovers.” Looking ahead to the League Cup-tie with Dunfermline, he commented, “Yet another one of those really tough derby games.

“It will be similar to the Raith game with a lot to play for and if we show the same sort of resilience we can get the right result.” The Pars beat Arbroath convincingly in the Petrofac Cup on Saturday by a 4-1 scoreline so they will be going all out to get revenge for the 3-0 drubbing Cowden gave them in the 2013-2014 Championship relegation play-off final at the same venue.

Since then the Dunfermline squad has changed a lot and new manager Allan Johnston has introduced several fresh faces plus re-introduced winger Joe Cardle. They have the likes of Calum Fordyce and Jason Talbot, from Livingston, and former Airdrie defender Brook Richards-|Everton, plus former Queen of the South midfielder Michael Paton.

But with Cowden having powerhouses in midfield in the shape of Chris Kane and Declan Hughes and the front two of Luke Armstrong and Greig Spence, the Blue Brazil can certainly give Dunfermline problems.

“We will be going there to get into the draw for the next round for we want to do well in all the cup competitions”, added Mr Nish.