PELE

Not sure where Morrison or Robbie Buchanan have been for last 3 weeks. Carty also missing last week. I was nervous when playing East Kilbride, but strangely didn't feel any nerves when we played Cove, even when we went 2-1 down. After finally seeing us win a league title when we beat Elgin in 2006 and surviving 2 play-offs I think I am almost at the point where I don't worry anymore. Whatever happens will happen as they say, no point worrying about it if you can't do anything to change it. I am not sure how it will go tomorrow. I can picture Bonnyrigg winning by a few goals (or even more if certain players lose the plot), but I also wouldn't be surprised if we won by 2 or 3. I wonder if we will go all out for a win if it looks like it is going our way, or if we will be happy to hold back and settle for a draw and rue not attacking more. If we are clinical with our chances, then we will do ok I think. I see Bonnyrigg are the hot favourites with the bookies for tomorrow.

I have to say, they prepare well and cover a lot of the questions which supporters might ask. Excellent work. All they have to do now is let us win .

Yeah, we got 125 tickets and the attendance was 548. Was an awful pitch as well. Don't like the astro pitches.

Yeah. East Kilbride and Cove were better teams (in my opinion) and our squad is definitely better than for those two play-offs. However, if you keep finishing in the play-off position, even if you play well, luck will go against you eventually. I hope we can make it 3 out of 3 and don't find ourselves in this position for a good while. Hope we stay up and Ross gets the chance to take charge next season. My worry is similar to yours. I picture Toddy lunging in around our box and giving away a penalty or free kicks. We have been better recently at defending crosses, but pretty poor at it usually and I think Bonnyrigg score quite a lot from headers from crosses, especially McGachie, but hopefully he is suspended for Saturday. Thing is, I think we have never actually finished bottom of the pile until the play-offs were introduced. Someone may know for sure.

Not a surprise really. I guess some other Cowden fans did the same as me and bought direct from Bonnyrigg, as I couldn't get to CP to buy them. Definitely going to be a sell out then. I assume there will be a fair number of neutrals in attendance. Bonnyrigg tend to get about 600 for a crowd normally. They had roughly 1300 for the home game against Fraserburgh, plus roughly 300 Broch fans. This is a much bigger game of course. C'mon Cowden.

We will no doubt try, if we stay up, but what usually happens is a team with more money will entice him away.

Not worried about trouble. Not expecting any. I was more thinking about where it was easier to buy tickets. If there no segregation, then it looks ok to buy from either club.

Yeah. Looks like they suggest the away fans congregate in one section, but not a separate away end, so I am guessing it doesn't matter where you buy the tickets from. They should all be the same. I would rather buy them from Cowden direct, but it will be easier for me to get them from Bonnyrigg as well. I go most weeks, but also don't have a season ticket. Probably be tickets still available from Cowden on Tuesday, but you can never tell with these games. The 1st game against the Broch had a crowd of nearly 1600. I think the capacity is about 1k more than that.

Looks like big McGachie will miss the 1st leg for Bonnyrigg. Apparently he was sent off at the end of the match yesterday for supposedly "goading" the Broch fans (Sumo style, for those who remember) who were taunting him about his size. Looks like a handful, so might help our cause if he is suspended.

Is there any segregation at New Dundas Park? Or can you go anywhere in the ground, once in?

Bonnyrigg are selling today to season ticket holders and then an open sale from Monday. They are also selling online on Monday only to allow for delivery. Don't know if they segregate the ground, but it doesn't say anywhere that the tickets are for home fans only. It says they look forward to welcoming all supporters. Looks like anyone can buy them from tomorrow. Don't know if I was imagining it, but I am sure someone said we would get about 400 tickets to sell.

Yeah. Great, except you can't get in the ground. Turnstiles all shut. Went elsewhere instead.

From the horse's mouth (not that Raymie was a horse) :- 1985/86 was the season I broke my leg in a match v Albion Rovers at Cowdenbeath. Sammy Conn took a penalty and I saved it. Two Albion players rushed in for the rebound and I forced one of them to hit the ball over the bar. Sammy Conn though booted me on the back of the leg. I got up again and was limping around. The other players were instructed not to pass the ball back to me for the next few minutes. However, next thing Grant Tierney passed back to me and as I went to pick it up my leg gave way completely. It was Joe Craig who was John Clark’s assistant who went to the treatment room with me that day after I had come off.

Yeah. I don't think he is that bad. Like a lot of players, he just needs a regular run out. Just a bit rusty, but he is unlikely to get many opportunities just now. Sometimes when you don't get many minutes you can overthink things and make a hash of it. Jordan Allan was like that. Bollan kept him on the bench, even when we didn't offer any threat and when he was brought on near the end he was too eager to make a quick impression and would mishit it or do an air-shot. Chris Aikamhenze is fit again, but he will not be eligible for the play offs unfortunately.

Beautiful goal! We want more, we want more!

Anyone else venturing north to Elgin tomorrow? Or, will it be déjà vu Annan again. Hopefully not our last trip up there for a league match. C'mon Cowden.

Good luck tonight Erbroath. All out attack is what you need. Out score them! That's the best way to approach it. They will probably play it tight and hope to sneak one. They have lost 5 more matches than you already, so another one is easily possible.

That sounds exactly like the type of set up the league would introduce .

Fingers crossed today. I was optimistic that Elgin might lose their last 4 and they obliged last week, but their game at Stirling today is the one they are most likely to get points from.

The first stage of the great escape has been completed. Only three more to go! (p.s. I reserve the right to delete this post within 7 days).

I don't play it. Did a few times many years ago though. I get what you are saying, but football is a simple game. We need to create chances and score. We play too defensively and yet still concede and still lose. We are adrift at the bottom of a league full of poor teams (with the exception of Kelty and Annan are ok) for good reason. Forfar were poor on Saturday, just as they were poor in the game at Central. Stenny were woeful in the game at Central. both sets of fans will tell you that. Yet we came away with just 2 points from a possible 9. That's why we are bottom. The last win we had was against Elgin and they were awful that day too and they still could have come away with a point. I like most of what Ross says and does and we would not be bottom if he was there at the start of the season, but it's results that count, not looking organised or having great shape. We probably wouldn't have the same team if Ross was there from the start. However, we have players who create. Ferguson, Swann, Ompreon, Aikamhenze, Mullen. Thomson as well, but he is injured. Liam creates chances as well, but unfortunately he should be in the middle trying to convert them instead of having to create them. Ferguson should be the first name on the team sheet. Some might say that Ompreon and Aikamhenze are young and inexperienced, but what's the alternative? We lose anyway. Should we play Robbie and Bobby? Robbie works his socks off a lot of the time and made a few key interceptions on Saturday, but he rarely ever creates anything when he is upfront. What threat does Bobby pose? The only time we have looked dangerous is when Ompreon and Aikamhenze are on or Ferguson comes on. The rest of the time we just lump it in the air. We are far too static. Too many players not looking for the ball or moving into space. Still launching long throws into the box and nothing ever comes of it. For me (and I will always go with an attacking formation), Ferguson, Ompreon, Aikamhenze and Liam have to start and Swann has to at least come on in plenty of time, if not starting (and if anyone needs reminding, it was Harvey who scored 2 in the play-off final against Cove). Yeah, it might not work, but newsflash, what we are doing doesn't work. That's why we are bottom. We need to be preparing for the play-off now in the final games. Preparing to win it, not preparing to try and scrape through to a penalty shootout. Or preparing to look organised and have great shape and still lose.

Well done. Make sure you give the Townies a good pasting next season!

Yeah. Or do something radical, like bring on a striker when we take one off. Better still, take off a midfielder or defensive player and bring on another striker.

I would expect Bonnyrigg to beat them, but I just get a feeling that the HL winners might get lucky this time. The Broch haven't won it yet anyway.

Looks like we are already doing that. I assume that's why Miller and Barr get game time ahead of better players.