Cowdenbeath 0 Dunfermline 3
Tuesday, 29th Apr 2003Fife Cup Semi Final
Craig Brewster (33) 0-1:
Lee Bullen (55) 0-2:
Noel Hunt (66) 0-3
With injuries restricting the number of players at manager Jimmy Calderwood’s disposal, it was a strong Pars team that took to the field in this Fife Cup semi-final. Seven of the starting eleven from Saturday‘s game against Hearts lined up at Central Park with Mark McGarty and Jason Dair dropping to the bench and Stevie Crawford and Andrius Skerla were absent on international duty. The quartet were replaced by Gus MacPherson, Scott Walker, Noel Hunt and Sean Kilgannon.
Cowdenbeath kicked off, and it took just three minutes for the first meaningful action to occur when Hunt forced a corner after being set up by Craig Brewster. The young Irishman headed narrowly wide from the corner. Hunt was again in action minutes later when he forced Cowden keeper Marc Graham to hastily clear the ball for a throw.
In 19 minutes, after being played through by Steven Hampshire, Barry Nicholson brought out a good save from Graham. Hampshire himself then had a good chance from a corner, but his header went wide just over the bar. Brewster volleyed narrowly wide from a Kilgannon cross before in 33 minutes the Pars made the breakthrough. Good work by Hunt on the bye-line saw the youngster centre for BREWSTER to knock the ball past the keeper from close range. 0-1
Four minutes later Mark McGarty came on to replace the injured Steven Hampshire but the one way traffic continued and there were appeals for a penalty from Hunt after he was brought down on the edge of the box. The referee was unmoved and awarded a corner instead. From that one delivered by Kilgannon, Scott Walker headed the ball over and on to the roof of the goal.
Half time: Cowdenbeath 0 Dunfermline 1
The visitors deserved to be further ahead and ten minutes into the second half they doubled their lead when Kilgannon’s corner kick was powerfully headed home by Lee BULLEN.
Chris McGroarty then joined the action replacing, captain for the night, Barry Nicholson. Gary Mason took over the armband for the remainder of the game.
Having caused the Blue Brazil defence trouble throughout the game, Noel HUNT scored the Pars third midway through the second half when from six yards out he volleyed a McGarty pass into the net part a static keeper.
In one of their first meaningful attacks of the game, Cowdenbeath’s Gordon brought a good save out of Marco Ruitenbeek, after Webster had capitalised on a Gus Macpherson slip up. The home team had another opportunity when McDonald’s good work down the wing led to Myles heading just over the bar.
After running past a tiring Cowden defence Hunt went round the keeper but having been forced wide, he was unable to make progress before being surrounded by defenders. With time running out, Cowden had another good opportunity but Willie Miller’s shot from the edge of the box was straight at Ruitenbeek.
The final action of the game saw Brewster try a chipped shot from 18 yards that just dropped over the bar.
This was a comfortable victory for Dunfermline against a Cowdenbeath team that took a while to breakdown. Next up are the UEFA cup finalists and that might just be a little tougher!
SUBS NOT USED: McDiarmid, McCallum, Fleming (GK)
DUNFERMLINE: Marco Ruitenbeek: Lee Bullen (Jason Dair 71), David Grondin, Barry Nicholson (Chris McGroarty 59), Gus Macpherson, Scott Walker, Steven Hampshire (Mark McGarty 37), Gary Mason, Noel Hunt, Craig Brewster, Sean Kilgannon
SUBS NOT USED: Sean Murdoch (GK)
SCORERS: Brewster (33), Bullen (55) Hunt (66)
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ATTENDANCE
NEXT MATCH: SPL (home) v Celtic, Saturday 3rd May 2003, kick off 3.00pm at East End Park.
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