Cowden were narrowly knocked out of the Alba Cup by first division Airdrie at Central Park. There was a second debut for John Armstrong who sparkled at the heart of the Cowdenbeath defence alongside Sandy Hodge. A huge loss was John Gemmell who picked up a neck injury and wasn't in the pool of 16.
An even first half saw very little chances for either side with both defences on top. The only real talking point in the first half was the referees surprising decision to call play back and award a free kick to Cowden despite Paul McQuade being clean through on goal and clearly having an advantage.
The second half began badly for Cowden when ex Kilmarnock striker Paul Di Giacomo opened the scoring for the Diamonds. A cross was deflected into the strikers' path and he coolly shot home past Davie Hay. Di Giacomo was proving to be a real nuisance for the Cowden defence and he got his reward with his second goal of the game in the 75th minute. A keeper's kick eluded the Cowden backline and Di Giacomo showed composure to slot home.
Cowden needed something huge to bring them back into the game. Up stepped Brian Fairbairn to rifle home a stunning 30 yard free kick to give Cowden some hope of pulling off a surprise comeback. Alas all hope was lost when Cowden captain Mark Baxter was sent off for a bad tackle on Michael Brown.
All in all Cowden more than matched their first division opponents for long spells in the game. Airdrie go on to the semi finals (along with Ross County, Partick Thistle and Morton) but Cowden can take heart from a good performance.
Next up for the Blue Brazil is a home tie against Berwick Rangers in the league next Saturday (the 13th). Cowden need to stop the current run of defeats and a game against Berwick is always full of passion and skill. A big performance from the players and there is every chance that Cowden will pick up all 3 points and cement our place in the top 2.