A LONG injury list is giving Cowden boss Callum Elliot a major headache ahead of the trip to face Berwick on Saturday.

The Blues lost their first league game of the season, at East Kilbride, despite battling back from two goals down at the interval through strikes from Jamie Docherty and Josh Jack.

They ultimately went down 4-2 and it came at a cost with centre-back Dougie Hill and attacking midfielders Matty McDonald and Aiden McLaughlin already ruled out of the Borders raid.

Several more are nursing knocks and strains as Elliot said a busy run of matches has left him short of options for the match at Shielfield Park.

He said: “The hectic schedule has seen us play 10 games in around a month and it has taken its toll with several players missing recent games.

Central Fife Times: Cowdenbeath boss Callum Elliot is hoping his team can bounce back against Berwick on Saturday. Cowdenbeath boss Callum Elliot is hoping his team can bounce back against Berwick on Saturday. (Image: David Wardle)

“Aiden is likely to be out for a month, while Matty may well be out until mid-November while Dougie will be an absentee for a fortnight yet, so it is putting pressure on the squad.

“We could be better placed for the Berwick game, and it will be a tough fixture, but we will ensure that we are ready both mentally and physically for this test."

Elliot has been boosted by a new signing with on-loan Motherwell kid Robbie Garcia checking in at Central Park.

The 17-year-old defender has worked his way up through the youth ranks at Fir Park and the Blues boss said: "I’m delighted Robbie has joined the club.

"He can play in a number of positions, which will massively help us at the minute with the amount of injuries we have.

“We also look forward to helping him with his development and preparing him to return to Motherwell to break into their first team."

Elliot, who was sent off in stoppage time on Saturday, was still sore about the late defeat against East Kilbride and reckoned his team should have shown more courage against the league leaders.

“We made a poor start to the game, for the first time this season, and paid the penalty for not being brave enough," he said.

"But the lads came back at East Kilbride after the interval and scored two really good goals.

“We were right back in the match but towards the end we switched off and let them off the hook.

"East Kilbride have the quality of players that can take advantage of that situation, we have to strive to reach the levels they displayed and that is our aim.”

Cowden had gone into that match as the only other unbeaten team in the Lowland League and will be looking to get back on track in Berwick.

The wee Rangers are two points better off, having played two games more, and Elliot will hope the attacking talent in their ranks, with the likes of Zac Butterworth, Jamie Docherty and Josh Jack all performing well for the Blues, will make the difference.

He added: “Hopefully we will have another good number of fans with us at Berwick as the supporters were excellent at East Kilbride and their backing was welcomed by the players.”