Cowdenbeath boss Jimmy Nicholl described this week’s Championship relegation play-off final between his side and local rivals Dunfermline Athletic as a potentially history-changing tie.
To stay in the Championship and all the money that playing with the likes of Hearts and Rangers will realise, Cowden have to overcome the Pars in the two leg play-off final which will be decided by matches on Wednesday at Central Park and on Sunday at Dunfermline.
Nicholl made it plain that this was a massive tie for his club and talked about the impact the result will have on their future.
Cowden effectively swept aside the challenge of Ayr United in the semi-final second leg on Saturday to book the spot with the Pars.
Greg Stewart, who scored twice in the first leg, put Cowden in front after 15 seconds with a neat finish from the edge of the box and then grabbed number two in 27 minutes, when he latched on to a Kane Hemmings lay-off and slotted home from close in.
Ayr pulled a goal back six minutes later, with Michael Donald shooting past Thomas Flynn from 10 yards out, but the tie was killed in 51 minutes when midfielder Thomas O’Brien took a Stewart flick and rounded Hutton to take the home tally to five over the two games.
There were many other chances for the hosts, who could have scored six.
Nicholl praised his players for their performance in beating United over the two legs.
“Getting the goal in the first minute was the sort of dream start you look for and it put us in the box seat. We went on to turn in a thoroughly professional performance, scoring three really good goals and there could have been more.
“But now we have the final to think about and this is a massive tie for Cowdenbeath.”
He added: “The board have ideas in place which playing in next season’s Championship would make very achievable and could see Cowden become a much bigger outfit.
“But to ensure these can take place, we have to win the final so the two ties will be really tense affairs.
“We go into it though on an unbeaten five-game run and we have the chance on Wednesday night to put on another good show and get a lead to take to Dunfermline on Sunday.”
He praised Greg Stewart for his four-goal contribution against Ayr and hopes he can continue his goal scoring run in the final.
Stewart made it clear that he wants to finish his four-year stint at the club, before he joins Dundee, by putting on a good performance as the team battles to stay in the Championship.
“It is not important who scores the goals in the final as long as we win but clearly I would like to sign off on four great years with Cowdenbeath by helping the team stay in this division and if I got a goal or two it would be a bonus,” he said.
Ayr boss Mark Roberts said that Stewart’s strike seconds after the kick-off completely wrecked his plans.
“We spent a lot of time planning how we were going to try to turn this tie around but losing a goal so quickly virtually put the task beyond us,” he said.
“There is no doubt that over the two legs Cowdenbeath were by far the better side and in Greg Stewart and Kane Hemmings they have two strikers who are way above League One standard.
“It has been a decent season for us though and making the play-offs was a nice way to round it off.”