Superman For The Day.

A wise man once told me that there is a new magical man in Scotland and he's looking for an opportunity to prove himself. You never know when the chance will come and there is always the question of "will you take it when it comes?" The whole week there was something special building up inside the team. A chance to take over 2nd place in the tables and an opportunity to get closer to being number 1. On Friday night I had spent some time talking on the phone with someone I would say is the true magical man of Scotland. He always calls when things seem to be getting tough and always manages to restore the belief in what I'm trying to achieve. On your journey to success and your dreams you will struggle, but when you get there, you'll look back on those difficult times and remember, the battles you won on and off the field to get there. Another call just after that conversation came from the keeper coach himself, just asking me how I was feeling and to wish me luck. At that point I wasn't sure if I was going to be starting in goals against Brechin. The phone rang on Saturday morning and when I picked up, the gaffer asked me how I was feeling. I told him I felt good and I would be ready, just go out there and do my thing. Probably the most short and sweet conversation he's ever had with any player as I'm not one to talk the talk, I'd rather show it on the field. A little flash back occured to me about a conversation I had with the magical man of Scotland where he said to me, "big man, when you get your chance, all you have to do is go out and play super man for the day." I took this along with my thoughts of what I had to do to be at my best. Once I finally got to the changeroom the announcement was made that I'd be in goals, from that point on it seemed like forever before I could get my warm up in. Not because I was nervous, more so because I was ready to show my coaches and teammates what I can do. I had a really good warm up, everything felt natural and anything that came into me I was going to hold onto. This match was special for myself being my first starting debut, but more importantly my team was looking to move into 2nd place. I felt confident from the start to the finish because I knew no matter what happened the guys infront of me were going to be solid right through to the final whistle. I came out for a cross and could hear the defender getting in the way of a Brechin striker, I've never felt so protected taking a cross. The match itself wasn't a top performance, definately not the level of play that Cowdenbeath is able to produce on the field. With 10 minutes left in the match Brechin had their best chance to clinch the 3 points forcing me to make 2 saves in a row before my defenders cleared the ball. I appreciated the efforts of the players infront of me as they cleared most of the possible threats through the entire match. When the final whistle went, a few heads dropped because all week the team thought about beating Brechin and moving up in the table. Even though I was disappointed that we didn't come away winners on the day, I felt I couldn't have performed any better on my debut infront of the home crowd. As the team gathered in the changeroom after the match I had some thoughts wishing my family back home in Canada and girlfriend could have been in the stands to share this with me, as they know everything that has gone on behind the scenes to get this far on my journey. I guess this is one of the feelings you deal with when you're playing outside of your home country. On the plus side it will be hard for my dad to yell at me for my errors from behind the goal now, just like I was 9 years old. Another week begins and the chase continues to get to the top, but there is all the possibility to get there. Fife derby next week against East Fife.




Cowdenbeath 0-0 Brechin

37 Minutes of Heart.

You've sat on the bench for 53 minutes of the match and watched every minute of that game with hopes of walking away with 3 points. The other keeper playing cuts off a hard driven ball to the front post and seems to be rather routine until you see the ball dribble out of his hands and end up in the back of the net, followed by a celebration of a happy striker who thinks he's managed to tie the game up 1-1. The ref has whistled the play dead and decided to claim a foul on the keeper as the striker made contact with him, the only problem here is the keeper is not getting up. Infact the stretcher is coming out and he's coming off. "Cam get warmed up, you might be going in," was all I heard before I found myself jogging down the touch line trying to get loosened up before I stepped over that white line. The chance I have been waiting for, the one I've been training for since I stepped off the plane a few months ago now. A little talk with the coach to help me get settled in, up to the linesman for a quick stud check and down into the goals with the Arbroath fans, who were waiting to tell me how great they thought I was. Before the game our coach talked about how supportive we are as a unit, if one player is having an off day, the next player beside him will be there to help lift him and support him. This is definately one of the few teams I have played for where I've seen such a tight bond. Through my 37 minutes of play my teammates gave me tons of support as we worked for one another to claim the 1-0 victory. I've played infront of 3,000 fans down in the USA with the Des Moines Menace of the PDL but the atmosphere in this match was way louder as the passion was driven behind the fans of the Arbroath, with the belief that they could take advantage of this freshly substituted keeper. The guys infront of me played absolutely solid, clearing anything that came into the box only allowing two shots, with one of them being off side. The decision for the referee to end the game seemed like forever but it was a pleasure to hear when it went and to see nothing but my teammates lift their hands in the air with joy. It's always a great feeling to go into a match knowing that the guys infront of your are solid players. This was a good taste of what it's all about and I look forward to the next opportunity when it presents itself. Hopefully it will be from the 1st minute one day, I don't fancy myself as a supersub, but it was definately been another story to tell about my adventure over here. A high intense finish to a 37 minutes end in a match where the lads played with their hearts and gave it everything to maintain their 3rd position in the table. A big game next weekend, with a win could push us up into second position.

Cowdenbeath 1-0 Arbroath

Team Effort.

Every time you step onto the field you prepare to play your best. You put your kit on and play for the badge on that jersey. As the game goes on the fans show their support and you don't want to let them down. It goes deeper then the club and the fans though, its about the people in that dressing room, whatever it takes you don't let any of them down. From your teammates, to the coach and supporting staff because everyone is there for the same reasons to try and achieve something great together. Our competition was Peterhead this weekend. Throughout the match I felt our team played well as a unit. It can be great football to watch when we keep the ball on the ground. Everyone was winning their battles on the field but more importantly we didn't play down to the other teams level. You can see the level and confidence rising within one another as each game passes us by. A couple of the guys had good strikes on the day which found the back of the net. This pushes us up one place into 3rd spot, which is great and hopefully we will continue to do well on the pitch. Every week is important to win 3 points, but the next couple weeks are really important. Next weekend we see Arbroath who are 3 points behind us but also have a game in hand and then the following week we'll get a chance to take a crack at Brechin who are just ahead of us in the table. For a team who wasn't suppose to be in the 2nd division we're doing well. Just take it a week at a time and get the results and hopefully the team will continue to play well.

Cowdenbeath 5-0 Peterhead

Scotland and The Stadium With Turf?

You wouldn't believe it until you've seen it. Some players hate it, while others don't mind it. In Canada its become more common as our seasons don't allow us to play outdoors all year round. I must say though Scotland is one country where I never expected to see astroturf used for match day. The Blue Brazil headed to Stenhousemuir this past weekend with visions of another 3 points to help rise up in the tables once again. The season is still very young but the spread amongst the teams is still very tight. One win can bring you closer to the top, with a little bit of luck. When I walked into the stadium I was looking at the pitch only to realize a little bit of Canada had followed me across the waters as well. I was surprised to see turf being used in Scotland as they have some of the best fields I've played on, Canada just doesn't seem to understand how to maintain a proper pitch. Very high winds for the game, crossing in the warm ups was just taking the ball out of the air and throwing it behind the goal. My team took a 1-0 lead in the first half when the keeper had a bit of a blooper. From my view it looked like he just dropped it into the back of the net himself. Everyone felt pretty comfortable with the lead in our hands going through the tunnel at halftime. In the second half a 1v1 situation forced the Stenhousemuir keeper off his line, only to play the man and not the ball, resulting in a penalty. The penalty was well taken, which pushed Cowden up 2-0. Nothing was really created by Stenhousemuir to pose a threat in the 2nd half and when the final whistle went it was offical that we were going home with 3 points in our pocket. This result pushed the team up into 4th in the table, with a couple teams having a game in hand. It can be a good thing to have a game in hand, but you can't count the points you haven't earned just yet. So now the pressure is on those teams to win, as we look to climb higher next week when Peterhead comes to visit us.

Cowdenbeath 2-0 Stenhousemuir