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Cowdenbeath Football Club are a part-time professional Scottish football team based in the town of Cowdenbeath, Fife. They currently play in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League. The club plays its home games at Central Park in the centre of the town which has the unusual feature of a motor racing track around the playing surface as the ground hosts regular stock car racing events. As they are a small, provincial club, they have had little major successes in the Scottish game, particularly in the modern era.
[edit] History
Cowdenbeath traditionally date their origin to the merger of two local clubs, Cowdenbeath Rangers (formed 1880) and Cowdenbeath Thistle, which occurred in 1881.[1] However, research by the club's historian[2] suggests the Cowdenbeath Rangers name continued to be used at this time and the founding of Cowdenbeath F.C. should properly be dated to 1882,[3] when another merger saw Rangers combine with a local club called Raith Rovers (formed 1881 and unrelated to the present Kirkcaldy club). The establishment of one club to represent the town thus coincided with the establishment of the Fifeshire Football Association that year. Cowdenbeath, who are the oldest surviving football club in Fife, lost in the inaugural Fife Cup final in 1883 but won the Cup for the first time in 1885.
The club were relegated in the 1933–34 season but claimed their third Division Two championship in the 1938–38 season. This feat was in no small part aided by Rab Walls' 54 League goals - the second highest seasonal total in Scottish League history. However, the outbreak of the Second World War cut short Cowden's return to Division One, and the club closed down for the duration of hostilities. When peacetime football resumed, the club were controversially placed in the new (second tier) B Division.
While a 1949 League Cup success over Rangers at Ibrox was a highlight of the early post-war period, Cowden struggled to return to the elite level of Scottish football. This was finally achieved under popular manager Andy Matthew in the 1969–70 season, but the solitary season in Division One that followed remains the club's only top flight campaign since the 1930s. More recently, hopes for the future were raised when Cowden were promoted to the First Division in season 1991–92, but they soon slumped back to the basement of the Scottish League amidst a run of 38 League games without a win at Central Park.
A more professional approach was ushered in with the appointment of former Scotland defender Craig Levein, who had begun his playing career with Cowdenbeath, as manager in 1997. Promotion from the Third Division was achieved in the 2000–01 season, although they would be relegated again two years later. After a third place finish in the 2004–05 season. The 2005–06 campaign saw the team achieve their first divisional title win for 67 years with player-manager Mixu Paatelainen when they won the Third Division. Season 2008/09 saw Danny Lennon's side miss out on promotion in a penalty shoot-out after a scoreless 2 legged match and extra time against Stenhousemuir.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Club Records
Biggest win: 12–0 vs Johnstone in Scottish Cup on 21 January 1928
Biggest league loss: 1–11 vs Clyde on 6 October 1951
Biggest home attendance: 25,586 vs Rangers on 21 September 1949
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
- As of 16 June 2009.
[edit] Players out on loan
[edit] Noted Players
The following former Cowdenbeath players are all members of the club's Hall of Fame.
- ^ This continues to be the official date of foundation given by the club. See Club Info, Cowdenbeath F.C. official website
- ^ Letter to the Editor by David Allan, Scottish Football Historian No.47, May/June 1991
- ^ David Allan's history of the club on their website supports the 1882 date, contradicting the official date given elsewhere on the site. See Club Info - History, Cowdenbeath F.C. official website
- ^ Known as second division prior to 1975
[edit] External links
Jim Methven
Danny Lennon
