Bye-bye to the Blue Brazil: Seismic afternoon at Central Park as buoyant Bonnyrigg Rose send Cowdenbeath into the abyss & More News Here

It proved third time unfortunate for Cowdenbeath, who’ve lengthy flirted with falling by the entice door. A penalty shootout victory over East Kilbride and win over an eight-man Cove Rangers facet noticed them prevail at this stage in the current previous. But this newest task proved a miracle too far for a membership which were a fixture of the senior scene for properly over a century.

It wasn’t so way back that Steven Gerrard stood on the sidelines at Central Park and admired the view. Cowdenbeath have an extended although maybe not at all times distinguished historical past in the Scottish League; they’ve been members since 1905. They have performed league soccer at Central Park since 1917, once they moved to a stadium some may cruelly counsel has been left untouched since.

It was nonetheless ready to accommodate a really first rate crowd of two,202 on Saturday as the hosts failed to overturn an at all times difficult three-goal deficit from the first leg seven days earlier. Bonnyrigg Rose are a coming workforce. They by no means seemed in any actual hazard after having fun with such a fruitful afternoon at their very own New Dundas Park floor.

Neil Martynuik, the Bonnyrigg Rose left again, utilized the coup de grace simply after the hour mark when he slotted house a penalty. Jonathan Stewart, the guests’ skipper, was adjudged to have been fouled by Alex Ferguson. The choice seemed harsh.

It definitely didn’t brighten the temper of Cowden supervisor Maurice Ross. He was free to admit afterwards that the tie was already as good as over when Harvey Swann was proven a crimson card in the first half of the first leg after selecting up a second reserving for a foul on Dean Brett, the former Cowden participant. A debatable penalty was given in opposition to Ross’ workforce shortly afterwards on the method to a ruinous 3-0 defeat.

Another mushy penalty, awarded by referee David Munro, utterly extinguished the house workforce’s slim hopes in the second leg. Stewart was loudly jeered when he was changed with quarter-hour left.

Not that the Bonnyrigg followers cared a jot. Five supporters’ buses had left the Midlothian city earlier in the day and lots of others had clearly made their very own method to the stadium. The Rosey Posey skilled the highs when successful the Scottish Junior Cup in 1966 and 1978. They might need one other memorable day to come as quickly as subsequent weekend once they play Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Challenge Cup closing.

But this, certainly, tops the lot. It’s only a disgrace Sean Connery, maybe their most well-known former participant, isn’t nonetheless round to toast them with a martini cocktail.

But what of Cowdenbeath? The battle is actual. Donald Findlay, the vibrant chairman who will shortly have a good time 12 years at the helm, surveyed the scene pre-match, as if ingesting all of it in for the final time. Even Findlay, a high QC, would battle to concoct an argument to persuade anybody that Cowdenbeath don’t deserve to be despatched down. They are persistent offenders.

As Ross later stated: “It is not by mistake this has happened. Year after year we have found ourselves in the same situation. You have to change what you are doing. If you don’t change, the inevitable happens.”

Ross signed an 18-month contract in November. “I have come to what is probably the most impossible job in Scottish football and we made it better but it was not good enough in the end,” he stated. Before Bonnyrigg, Cowdenbeath had misplaced solely as soon as in seven video games. Ross expects to be given the likelihood to convey them again up from the Lowland League.

The hosts had their moments. Bobby Barr hit the put up early on with a shot from the fringe of the field and the actual “what if?” second arrived 9 minutes earlier than half-time, when Sam Denham clipped the bar from about 4 yards as he tried to divert a cross into the internet. Just a few inches decrease and who is aware of?

“I kent it was coming just not this season,” stated Jimmy Brown, a fan since the Seventies, as he left the stadium. “You just got the feeling. Another second bottom finish last season to a poor Brechin side. I think the blame has to lie at the door of the signings made last summer by Gary Bollan.

“I have seen Bonnyrigg a couple of times on my travels this season and I was not impressed. We were in a bit of form and I think we are actually better than the Cowden sides from the previous play-offs which managed to win v East Kilbride and Cove Rangers, who are both better than Bonnyrigg – in my opinion.”

As for the workforce’s prospects in the Lowland League subsequent season, he stated: “It’s an abyss, isn’t it? You either do it first time next season or you are stuffed.”

He will proceed attending Central Park no matter occurs – besides when the Colts groups from Rangers and Celtic are on the town. He will draw the line at that. “I don’t agree with them being in the league at all,” he stated.

Could it presumably be the set off for a rebirth? “Maybe it would be beneficial if we went down again,” he argued. He reasoned that golf equipment in the East of Scotland League such as Tranent Juniors and Penicuik Athletic would convey extra followers than the likes of Caledonian Braves and the college groups from Stirling and Edinburgh.

A non-drinker, he didn’t even have the choice of drowning his sorrows. “I’ll just go home and do the weeding,” he stated.

In the background as he spoke might be heard the revving of engines. Just as time waits for no man, the identical applies to inventory automobile racing. The Saturday night time meet was scheduled for 6pm, as regular.

Few in the petrolhead neighborhood appeared interested by extending any sympathy to these few native soccer followers nonetheless milling round in one thing of a daze after what, in Scottish soccer phrases, had proved such a major afternoon. It was a loud reminder that life will go on.