Match Preview

Match Preview 2023 2024
Cowdenbeath
Park’s Motor Group Lowland League
Central Park
Saturday 13 January 2024

Bo’ness United face a difficult trip across the Forth to meet inform Cowdenbeath who are undefeated in the Lowland League since they lost out at Newtown Park in mid-November. Three wins and a draw is good going in this difficult league and the Fife side have moved up the table in impressive style. Things might have been even better for Cowdenbeath but their last two fixtures at home to East Stirlingshire and away to Linlithgow Rose fell foul of the weather. Their last game was a narrow Boxing Day win at the Shire, the decisive goal scored in time added on.

Bo’ness only secured the points at Newtown Park in the final ten minutes as Cowdenbeath kept going despite having to chase the game after the BUs took and early lead. The report from that game is at the end of this preview. Bo’ness’s last visit to Central Park was on a cold Tuesday night in November 2022 where the honours were even. A Scott Sinclair goal gave Cowdenbeath a half time lead but with just under twenty minutes left to play Tom Grant struck to give the BUs a share of the points.

Bo’ness go into the game following their home win against East Stirlingshire. A poor start from the BUs saw them concede twice in the first half hour but they recovered to score four goals, the Shire finishing the game with only nine men. The report follows this preview.

As always Bo’ness know they must be at their best to come away with a positive outcome. Rightly, Cowdenbeath are confident of getting a result in their favour and so it all adds up to be an intriguing contest. Cowdenbeath are a well-supported team and hopefully the BU Faithful will travel in numbers to back their favourites, adding to the motivation for the players to perform on the day.

John Spowart
Friday 12 January 2024

Date – Saturday 11 November 2023

Competition – Park’s Motor Group Lowland League

Bo'ness United 4
(Porteous 12 52, Grant 49, Foster 80)

Cowdenbeath 2
(Macpherson 43, Docherty 62)

Bo’ness United got back to winning Lowland League points with a good win against Cowdenbeath. After losses at home to East Kilbride and at University of Stirling the BUs were keen to keep in touch with the teams above them and it was mission accomplished.

The first half saw action at either end with goals at the beginning and the end of the period. Just over ten minutes in Cowdenbeath keeper Craig Hepburn dropped a corner and in the resulting goalmouth scramble Ryan Porteous got the vital touch to put his side ahead. Just before the break Cowdenbeath equalised with a run and low cross by Matthew MacDonald finding Ewan Macpherson who scored from close in.

Four minutes after the turnaround Bo’ness regained the lead as Scott Dalziel heads on a long ball for Tom Grant to score with a first time shot from the edge of the box. Soon after the BUs extended their advantage, Dalziel crossing from outside the box for Porteous to loop a header over the Cowdenbeath keeper and into the net. Cowdenbeath pulled a goal back thanks to Jamie Docherty whose angled run and shot beat BU keeper Musa Dibaga at his near post. With ten minutes remaining Bo’ness sealed the points, Keir Foster fighting to keep the ball ide on the left before cutting inside to fire home a low shot from just outside the box.

That goal appeared to knock the stuffing from Cowdenbeath, their misery compounded just before the end when Andy Rodden was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Louis Kennedy.

Bo'ness: Dibaga, Stevenson, Macaulay, Travis, McArthur, Foster (Mooney 84), Stenhouse, Gemmell (Henderson 60), Dalziel (Malcolm 60), Porteous (Kennedy 84), Grant (Irving 70). Subs (Not Used): Rutherford, SG Thomson

Cowdenbeath: Hepburn, (Macdonald 85), Rodden, Jordan, Hill, McNab, McLaughlin (Berry 85), Docherty, Macpherson, Chalmers (Jack 60), MacDonald (Cunnigham 75). Subs (Not Used): Tait, Duncan, SG Blair

Date – Saturday 06 January 2024

Competition – Park’s Motor Group Lowland League

Bo'ness United 4
(Hawkins 35, Malcolm 55 75, Porteous 90+3)

East Stirlingshire 2
(Rankin 15 pen, Penker 29)

After a slow start losing two goals in the first half hour, Bo’ness United dug in to stage a great fight back to win the points against East Stirlingshire who finished the match with only nine men.

A quiet initial period saw both sides in possession but after fifteen minutes the visitors got their noses in front when BU Keeper Musa Dibaga got himself into a fankle bringing down Scott Honeyman in the box, the resulting penalty put away by Luke Rankin. Bo’ness responded with a couple of efforts on goal but in twenty-nine minutes went further behind as the ball fell nicely for Jamie Penker to fire in from close in. The BUs set about getting back and six minutes later a corner resulted in a scramble in the six-yard box, Lewis Hawkins forcing the ball home to narrow the gap.

Before half time Bo’ness came close on a number of occasions but it was ten minutes after the break they got the equaliser, a good passing move finishing with Fin Malcolm angling low past Shire keeper Jordan Pettigrew. Bo’ness were on the ascendancy and with fifteen minutes remaining took the lead when Malcolm latched onto a great through pass from Keir Foster to cooly slot into the Shire net.

To compound East Stirlingshire’s misery the final ten minutes saw two players sent off, Matty Flynn and Tony Coutts both shown red cards and three minutes into time added on a sweeping Bo’ness move finished with a great angled shot from Ryan Porteous, the ball finding the far top corner of the net.

Bo'ness: Dibaga, Hawkins, Macaulay (Foster 67), Travis, McArthur, Irving, Kennedy,
Johnston, Malcolm, Grant (Henderson 78), Porteous. Subs (Not Used): Dalziel, Gemmell, Stevenson. SG: Thomson