Cowdenbeath and Elgin have played each other a total of 18 times since Elgin were elected into the Scottish League (they were elected along with Peterhead in 2000) and Cowdenbeath have the upper hand with a total of 15 wins and only 1 defeat.
The first time the 2 sides met on league business was on the 26th of August 2000 at Central Park with Cowdenbeath running out 3-1 winners in front of a crowd of 284. 18 days earlier the 2 sides had met in a CIS Cup clash, again at Central Park, and Elgin crashed to a 3 - 0 loss in their first ever League Cup match. Goals from Murray McDowell, Keith Wright and John Paul Burns sealed Cowden's place in the second round.
Elgin have recorded one victory over Cowden. On their 12th attempt to beat Cowden since joining the league the 2 sides clashed at Borough Briggs on the
19th of March 2005. Craig Higgins (now of Ayr Utd) had given Elgin the perfect start before Willie Martin (now of Albion Rovers and still scoring against Cowden!) wrapped up the points after Cowden goalie Andy Carlin's attempted clearance had rebounded of the Elgin forward.
In more recent years the 2 sides have met on numerous occasions in the 3rd Division. A famous season for Cowdenbeath was wrapped up in style with a 2-1 win over Elgin which clinched The Blue Brazils first championship in over 70 years. A crowd of over 2600 packed Central Park and Mixu Paatelainen's side won thanks to goals from top scorer Liam Buchanan and cult hero Armand One. Adam Nelson fired home an unstoppable free-kick to make it a nerve-wracking end to the league season but Cowden held on to celebrate a league title.
A match between Cowden and Elgin made national headlines after a serious injury to Cowdenbeath midfielder Markus Paatelainen (brother of Mixu). A tackle by Hugh Dickson led to Markus being stretchered off the field. It wasn't until long after the game though that Markus became aware of the serious nature of the injury. 3 operations later and Markus had avoided having to have his leg amputated after a haematoma developed. Markus made a full recovery and played his part in Cowden winning the league. He now plays for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
The most recent clash between the 2 sides in Elgin saw Cowden win 2 nil in the newly named Alba Challenge Cup on the 26th of July 2008. Goals from centre half Darren McGregor and attacking midfielder Paul McQuade meant Cowden progressed to take on Albion Rovers in the 2nd round (a game which Cowden won 3-2 with McQuade again scoring).
This Saturdays match will be taking place at Borough Briggs where Elgin have been playing their home games since the 20th August 1921. It is highly unlikely that the crowd will be anything like the crowd that packed into the ground for a Scottish Cup tie in 1968. Over 12,000 fans packed into the ground to watch Highland League side Elgin take on Arbroath. Elgin ran out 2 - 0 winners' thanks to second half goals from Jimmy Anderson and Bryan Thompson. Their efforts in the cup that season led to them being awarded the Sunday Mirror Giant Killers Cup. Elgin moved to their current home after the First World War as their previous ground Station Park had been dug up as part of the war effort.
Few players have played for both Cowden and Elgin in recent times. Scorer of the Cowdenbeath goal of the season last season, Pat Scullion, played 15 times for Elgin before signing for Cowden where he went on to play over 75 times for the Central Park side. Pat now plays centre midfield for Alloa Athletic after signing for them after Cowdens relegation to division 3. John Allison played 38 times for Elgin City scoring 1 goal for the club in a match v East Stirlingshire. John was signed by Dave Baikie just before the start of the championship season but he failed to break into the team making only 1 start for the club. He left Cowden to play for junior side Oakley United.
In the league games at Borough Briggs there have been 24 goals scored in 8 games. This would indicate that this Saturdays match is going to be full of goals. Can Cowdenbeath continue their good record against Elgin or will there be a surprise in store for the Blue Brazil faithful?