Rarely has the much-maligned phrase “a game of two halves” more accurately summed up a contest than at the remarkable Division One play-off semi-final first leg at Glebe Park between Brechin and Cowdenbeath.
The opening 45 minutes saw the Fife side dominate. They scored two goals, from Scott Linton and Lewis Coult, against a City outfit that was never at the races.
However, the second half was an amazing transformation in fortunes with Brechin scoring an early quick-fire double thanks to substitute Jordan Kirkpatrick and Mitchel Megginson as they threatened to overwhelm the Fifers.
Both sides will face up again in the second leg on Saturday at Central Park with everything to play for.
Relieved Brechin boss Jim Weir said, “We didn’t get at them in the first half and maybe gave them too much respect.
“We defended poorly and I had to shake it up at half time. That was a young side out there but they were terrific and did brilliantly to come back from two goals down.
“We can now take that confidence into the next game and, if we can play like we did in the second half, then we are capable of causing them problems.”
Cowdenbeath boss Jimmy Nicholl said, “Brechin were outstanding in the second half and played with some great movement.
“It was not a case of us being overconfident, we just never dealt with them properly. We tried to change things but we just got stuck in a rut.
“We still have a great chance on Saturday but we have learned valuable lessons tonight. It is all in the balance still.”
Weir selected the same starting XI that secured their play-off place with a 1-0 win over Ayr on Saturday.
Nicholl, who rested a host of players for the meaningless league game in Dingwall against Ross County at the weekend, brought back Mark Baxter, Coult, Linton, Greg Stewart and Stevie Crawford.
There was plenty of interest in the players on the field outwith the two camps. St Mirren gaffer Danny Lennon, Raith boss John McGlynn, Livingston manager Gary Bollan as well as Aberdeen and St Johnstone assistant bosses Archie Knox and Tony Docherty were all in attendance.
They saw Brechin have the worst start possible, losing a goal after just four minutes when Linton latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the City box and despatched a crisp shot just inside Craig Nelson’s right-hand post.
The Blue Brazil took a huge confidence boost from their early counter and started spraying the ball around at a pace which their Second Division opponents struggled to live with as they attempted to gain a foothold in the game.
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Indeed, the home fans had to wait until the 20th minute to have something to shout about, when Andrew Cook played a ball in from the right to the feet of Megginson, who spun and shot just over from 15 yards.
That fleeting hope turned to despair for the Glebe Park faithful five minutes later as Cowdenbeath doubled their advantage.
Jon Robertson played in Linton down the Cowden left and he crossed to the back post to the unmarked Coult, who powered a header back across goal and into Nelson’s net.
That counter confirmed Nicholl’s side’s dominance as Brechin continued to look laboured and struggled to put Cowden’s goalkeeper Ludovic Roy under any pressure.
As the teams headed off at half-time, it was obvious Weir would have to work a minor miracle if he was turn this tie around.
He made a double substitution at half time with David McKenna and Kirkpatrick coming on for Neil Janczyk and Gary Fusco and the move paid immediate dividends.
Just a minute after the restart, Kirkpatrick cut in from the left and hit an unstoppable 25-yarder which struck Roy’s far post and flew back across goal and into the net.
Kirkpatrick was instrumental in the equaliser as he played an incisive through ball on 51 minutes into the path of Megginson who cracked the ball home from just inside the box.
City had their tails up and should have scored a third just four minutes later when Rory McAllister broke down the right and squared the ball to McKenna, but his shot was brilliantly blocked by Roy who had raced off his line to snuff out the threat.
Shortly after, it was Baxter who pulled off another goal-saving block as he threw himself at a close-range net-bound McKenna shot, with Brechin claiming he had stopped the ball with his hand.
By now it was wave after wave of City attacks and they took their toll on Cowden keeper Roy, who had to hobble off to be replaced by David Hay in the 71st minute.
Hay was helpless as Ewan Moyes powered a header towards goal at a corner in the 78th minute, but Linton was on hand to clear off his line.
Brechin kept pressing for a third but Cowdenbeath managed to hold on for a draw.
Attendance 596Brechin City Nelson, Cook, McBain, McLauchlan, Moyes, Janczyk (Kirkpatrick, 45), Fusco (McKenna, 45), Molloy, McAllister, Megginson (Byers, 82), Redman. Subs not used White, Scott.Cowdenbeath Roy (Hay, 71), Baxter, Adamson, Ramsay, Armstrong, O’Brien, Coult, Robertson, Stewart, Crawford, Linton. Subs not used Makel, Winter, Byrne, Ferguson.Referee Anthony Law.