Play-off 2nd leg 18th May; Berwick (0) v Cove (4)

[mid-table 679]

By my count this will be Berwick's 2,324th league game as members of the Scottish League.

Who knows if the 2,325th will ever happen.

In most cases a demise like this would be met by some sort of co-ordinated action, at the very least I would expect someone to take a symbolic black and gold coffin and dump it outside the Directors Box, but I'm not sure there is enough cohesion or hope left in the support to even do that.

Turgid 3-0 win to Cove.

I'll let someone with more knowledge or desire than me preview the game properly.

[GordonS 4,333]

I'm praying hard for the most unlikely comeback of all, assisted by dodgy refereeing, some sort of infrastructure failure like the away dressing room being flooded, and a big dug biting Cove's goalie.

It would provide Scottish football with the ultimate heids-gone moment.

[bullyweehutch 462]

2-0 Cove for Berwicks funeral

[HibeeJibee 8,134]

In the entire history of playoffs in the Scottish league system - only 4 times has any team overturned a first leg deficit of more than 1 goal:

Final for SFL2 in 2011-12: Stranraer came back from 0-2 down against Albion Rovers... SF for SFL1(Championship) in 2012-13: Dunfermline came back from 1-3 down against Forfar... Final for Premiership in 2013-14: Hamilton came back from 0-2 down against Hibs... Final for Championship in 2014-15: Alloa came back from 1-3 down against Forfar.

It has never been done from 3 goals down nevermind 4 goals so I feel we can safely exclude that possibility even before considering our utter abjectness . We crashed 4-0 to Alloa in Final for SFL2 in 2005-06, won the return, but only 2-1.


Going by today's game you should be safer looking for the record aggregate victory (Kelty 10-0 Threave) to be challenged. In practice I'm sure Cove wouldn't bother enough, but they could easily have won by 5 or 6 or 7 today.

[Mon_The_Fife 838]

Just had a look at a few of Berwick’s stats.

0 goals in 8 games.
8 goals in 2019 - 20 games, conceding 52 goals in the same process.

It would take something ridiculous for this mob to score at least 4 and not concede at the other end.

[MAC THE KNIFE 46]

SHIRE NO LONGER THE ONLY TEAM RELEGATED TO THE " MINORS "

[Chris_the_rover 349]

In the entire history of playoffs in the Scottish league system - only 4 times has any team overturned a first leg deficit of more than 1 goal:

Final for SFL2 in 2011-12: Stranraer came back from 0-2 down against Albion Rovers... SF for SFL1(Championship) in 2012-13: Dunfermline came back from 1-3 down against Forfar... Final for Premiership in 2013-14: Hamilton came back from 0-2 down against Hibs... Final for Championship in 2014-15: Alloa came back from 1-3 down against Forfar.

It has never been done from 3 goals down nevermind 4 goals so I feel we can safely exclude that possibility even before considering our utter abjectness . We crashed 4-0 to Alloa in Final for SFL2 in 2005-06, won the return, but only 2-1.


Going by today's game you should be safer looking for the record aggregate victory (Kelty 10-0 Threave) to be challenged. In practice I'm sure Cove wouldn't bother enough, but they could easily have won by 5 or 6 or 7 today.

Albion rovers came back from 2-0 v stranraer not the other way about

[Chris_the_rover 349]

Just had a look at a few of Berwick’s stats.

0 goals in 8 games.
8 goals in 2019 - 20 games, conceding 52 goals in the same process.

It would take something ridiculous for this mob to score at least 4 and not concede at the other end.

9 games now

[Redcar 541]

The manager's stated aim to do something different (i.e. attack) shows how the Board seriously screwed up in hanging on to Johnny Harvey for so long. 

Brownlie hoped to park the bus at Cove and attack on the break, vividly illustrating that he hasn't been there long enough to realise just how shite we are at defending. 

He is soon to learn just how shite we are at attacking too. 

[tescodave 80]

The manager's stated aim to do something different (i.e. attack) shows how the Board seriously screwed up in hanging on to Johnny Harvey for so long. 
Brownlie hoped to park the bus at Cove and attack on the break, vividly illustrating that he hasn't been there long enough to realise just how shite we are at defending. 
He is soon to learn just how shite we are at attacking too. 

110%. He got his team all wrong yesterday. Problem is our best is still a long way short of decent. There’s been plenty shambolic performances this season but yesterday was up there with the best. Men against boys. A totally unacceptable performance that I’m sure the players think wasn’t that bad. That’s how low this club is.

[PELE 452]

You never know. A quick goal, then a flukey second, then a sending off for Cove as they give away a penalty and it could be 3-0 after say, just 15 minutes.

If the game was played 50 times, it might only be a big Berwick win in 1 out of the 50, but this might just be that 1.

Anything can happen and coming back from 4-0 is far from impossible. All Berwick can do is attack at all costs. Everything might go right on the day,  Cove might get a few sent off. They might lose a few key players to injury. Who knows. You just have to go for it 100% and if you are clinical at finishing on the day, you can do it.

[Chris_the_rover 349]

I feared when berwick sacked Harvey or he left whkever came in wouldn't know the team well, I will be gutted if they go down great away day. Any other season that would have been rovers getting thumped in Aberdeen yesterday no question asked

[Alpha Gordini 45]

2 hours ago, Redcar said:

The manager's stated aim to do something different (i.e. attack) shows how the Board seriously screwed up in hanging on to Johnny Harvey for so long. 

Brownlie hoped to park the bus at Cove and attack on the break, vividly illustrating that he hasn't been there long enough to realise just how shite we are at defending. 

He is soon to learn just how shite we are at attacking too. 

We *are* shite at defending, but it's because (a) our midfield are shite (and don't protect the defence enough), and (b) we persist with one (one and a half, occasionally two) up top, so when we clear it, it keeps coming back very quickly. I don't think Healy's a great player, but he won most of his headers yesterday and flicked a lot of them on for Adamson (if he'd only stayed onside, we could maybe have sneaked an early goal). Then the manager subbed Adamson at half time... don't know if he was injured, but he was replaced by a defender (McIlduff)! We looked like we had a bit more of a threat (OK. maybe half a threat) when Barr came on later in the second half, and O'Kane (yup, really.. well he was a midfielder/striker earlier in his career!) was getting up to support the attack and got in some good positions. Barr HAS to start next Saturday. Hume has to be left out.

I'd give my right arm to have Scullion and Fleming in central defence for the return leg. Scullion played like a drain about 1 game in 4, and Fleming was a bit raw, but learning a lot playing alongside him, and he was quick. I'm about as quick as our current central defence and they've got 20+ years on me!

It's shit or bust time. A couple of early goals, and the defenders need to be winding up the Cove forwards too. Like @PELE says, if we can a couple of goals up. and one of the Cove players gets sent off, it could make things VERY interesting.

Failing that, at least the speedway is on later that evening

Edited May 12, 2019 by Alpha Gordini

[GNU_Linux 1,844]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but if Cove come up they'll be the 2nd ex-junior to play in SFL/SPFL after Annan Athletic. Annan played in the Dumfries & District Amateur Junior League in their early days til the league folded in 1951 & Cove had a single season in North Regional Junior League prior to joining the Highland League in 1986.

[cowdenbeath 1,837]

1 minute ago, GNU_Linux said:

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but if Cove come up they'll be the 2nd ex-junior to play in SFL/SPFL after Annan Athletic. Annan played in the Dumfries & District Amateur Junior League in their early days til the league folded in 1951 & Cove had a single season in North Regional Junior League prior to joining the Highland League in 1986.

Aye that sounds right.

[DA Baracus 15,690]

At best Berwick will get a draw on the day.

Berwick are going down.

[Cowden Cowboy 790]

Aye that sounds right.

Clydebank

[cowdenbeath 1,837]

18 minutes ago, Cowden Cowboy said:

Clydebank

I thought he was talking about current sides also forgot about Clydebank just shows what happens when you leave the SPFL, people just forget about you.

 

 

Edited May 12, 2019 by cowdenbeath

[Jacksgranda 10,177]

Clydebank could be back in the SPFL before Berwick, although it appears unlikely at the moment. But if a WoS league gets formed as a feeder to the LL, who knows.

[berwicksfinest 74]

Reckon i've got more chance of shagging the Minogue sisters, than us scoring!! Let alone us scoring 5