October 2009

October saw the boys grow in stature on the park with an unbeaten run of 5 games including a very good performance resulting in a 5-0 defeat at home to Peterhead. This run saw us climb up the league and currently sit as league leaders. A lot of people will not have expected Cowdenbeath to be sitting top of the 2nd Division, however we have set high standards and although we may have surprised others we have not been surprised. The players work very hard at training and there is a positive atmosphere around the club. We will all continue to work well together as well as striving to improve the standards we have set whilst I have been Manager. It is important that we continue to believe in our abilities and ensure that we work hard to maintain our form and make it difficult for teams to play against us. I therefore ask the supporters, who have been magnificent; to continue to give your team the great backing you have given them so far.

I was pleased that the team gave our fans and the community a big boost at the end of the month when we secured a narrow victory over our Fife counterparts East Fife. Despite the earlier kick off I felt both teams gave a good account of themselves and we look forward to hosting East Fife again in March.  We are also proud to hold the record for scoring the fastest league goal using the SFL’s new Football’s sponsored by Irn Bru – congratulations to Frankie, who received a Golden Ball.

I would just like to thank all the players and staff for their efforts so far this season and dedicate the October Manager of the Month Award to everyone at the club for their hard work.

October also resulted in us signing John Armstrong. I am delighted to welcome John back to the club on a more permanent basis. Although still young, John adds experience and strength to our squad and I am sure he will make a very positive contribution to Cowdenbeath over the coming season.

The club has also been making use of some Sports Science support which has been offered to help players to understand a bit more about how they train but also how they perform during matches. Some of the concepts are unique and new but it is refreshing to see both management and players embrace this work and hopefully it well help us all develop and improve long term.

October also saw the draw for the 3rd Round of the Scottish Cup and we were delighted to get a home draw albeit against Alloa Athletic who, as always, will provide a stern test.
Also a well done to our young u’19 squad  after beating Peterhead 5-1 in the 3rd round of the SFA Youth Cup and now meet Livingston in the 4th round. The tie will be played at Livingston on the 6th December with a 4.30pm KO. Come along and give them your support.

Off the field our new lottery continues to thrive and we are looking to our fantastic support and our community to continue buying the lottery tickets via our lottery agents or online facility - many thanks to all our lottery agents. This provides vital support for our Youth Development programme which has produced players such as Jon Robertson, Scott Linton, John Ferguson and Den Droudge from the Academy.

Finally, I would like to reach out to the community of Cowdenbeath and ask that they come along to Central Park and enjoy the football being played in the SFL 2nd Division. Your support would mean so much and provide valuable support to everyone involved at Cowdenbeath FC.