Season over for Berwick Rangers after cup knockout

This season's Scottish Lowland Football League golden boot winner, Liam Buchanan, on the ball against Cowdenbeath on Saturday (Pic: Ian Runciman)

Rangers had got the better of the Blue Brazil in the Scottish Lowland Football League, beating them twice – by 4-0 away in March and 2-1 in the reverse fixture at home in October – and ending up eight places and 25 points better off in the table, so they’d been hoping to pull off a hat-trick of wins at home to the Fifers at the weekend.

Cowdenbeath had other ideas, however, pulling off a 2-0 upset against their hosts in new manager Calum Elliot’s first game in charge to book a quarter-final at home to Stirling University this coming Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.

The visitors opened the scoring against home manager Stuart Malcolm’s men, beaten only twice in 2023 and undefeated at Shielfield Park since August, in the 39th minute, Jack Garrad knocking home the rebound from a Lucas Berry shot from ten yards out after a save by Thomas Kay, making his debut between the posts for Rangers.

Berry doubled Cowdenbeath’s advantage with his first goal for the club in the 55th minute to secure their passage to the last eight of the cup, their student visitors having booked their place with a 5-2 win at Dalbeattie Star.

The 21-year-old’s goal was also a follow-up effort, a shot from David Struthers, brought on after Callum Murray went off injured, having bounced back off the inside of the post and gone uncleared by the hosts’ defence, allowing him to stab it home.

Berwick had their chances but couldn’t make them count, bringing the curtain down on their season.

A seventh-minute Alex Harris corner was headed wide by Lewis Baker and the same man forced a save out of visiting goalkeeper Danny Farrell on 20 minutes and also tried a long-range lob on the half-hour mark after spotting Farrell off his line, only just missing.

Rangers striker Liam Buchanan won this year’s league golden boot award with 22 goals, one more than Caledonian Braves forward Marc Kelly, but the 38-year-old, at Cowdenbeath twice previously, was unable to find the back of the net against his old club in his final outing of this campaign.