This week’s highlights programme from IRN-BRU SFL.TV will be lit up by a great goal from Cowdenbeath’s Mark Ramsay but the Dunfermline born player has been well warned not to repeat his antics on Saturday when Jimmy Nicholl’s side visit East End Park.
Ramsay was born in Dunfermline in 1986 and he risks the wrath of family and friends if Nicholl’s improving side make it three wins in a row and a fourth triumph of their first League campaign in the First Division for 18 seasons.
The midfielder has been on a journey through the three IRN-BRU SFL divisions with the Blue Brazil and this season will also see him return to play against his first senior club.
Ramsay said, “I started at Falkirk when I was 11 and spent nine years with them. I played a few games in the First Division in the season they were promoted but was on the bench most of the time in the SPL for season 2005/06. I was released at the end of that season.”
Help to get going again in football was close at hand with Ramsay adding, “My dad was a coach in the Juniors and I joined Dundonald Bluebell where I played alongside Martin Grehan and Paul McQuade.
“Martin got picked up by Motherwell at much the same time that I went to Cowdenbeath and he is now at Partick Thistle after being transferred from Stirling Albion.”
McQuade joined Ramsay at Central Park and he has now moved onto the SPL, along with former Central Park boss Danny Lennon, and Ramsay reckons his old striking mate owes him a favour,
“Brian Welsh, who was Cowdenbeath boss at the time, asked me about Paul,” said Ramsay before adding, “I said sign him as he is a cracking player.
“He has now moved on to a bigger stage but I will be reminding him that if it was not for me, he would still be in the Juniors!”
Ramsay has travelled the entire SFL with Cowdenbeath explaining, “I started off in the Second Division in October 2007 but we were relegated to the Third Division at the end of that season.
“After a year, we were moved up a division and then we were promoted to the First Division via the Play-Offs last May.
“I would say it has been a very successful time after that first disappointment.”
Ramsay did however, miss out on starting the Play-Off Second Leg game that ended in a 3-0 win over Brechin City last season for a very good reason. He had just got married two days before.
“I think it would be fair to say that I got my dates wrong!” said Ramsay before adding, “I had to change leaving on honeymoon from the Sunday morning to the Sunday night and that was as popular as you would imagine.
“I was a substitute at the game and Danny Lennon probably called that right as my head would not have been entirely focused on the game.”
The progress made by the club could have been halted this summer when Lennon moved to Paisley however, an experienced old head came on board to steady the ship.
Jimmy Nicholl arrived to build on Lennon’s success with Ramsay saying, “It is really good to be working with him.
“The boys had been hoping it would be Jimmy when the names were being banded about after Danny moved on.
“Colin Cameron and Jimmy have been great with us and as a team, we took confidence from The ALBA Challenge Cup win at Raith Rovers that opened the season. That gave us confidence that we could do well in the First Division.”
Ramsay saw a number of his team-mates move to New St. Mirren Park with Lennon during the summer and he did have a pang of jealously as he said, “It was great to see the guys stepping up but you also hope that it may happen to yourself one day.
“You want to play at the highest level. I will just knuckle down and get on with things and you never know what will happen.”
Cowdenbeath have regrouped with Ramsay saying, “The guys that have come in have done really well and so far, we are doing as well, if not better, than expected.”
There were stutters after the Raith success with Clyde and Ayr United winning cup-ties and Ross County along with Queen of the South winning on League duty in Fife however, recent form has seen three wins secured in four games.
Ramsay said, “We have approached things one game at a time and I am sure that will be our approach going forward.
“It has worked against Stirling Albion, Partick Thistle and then Morton last week. We are joint third just now and that is not bad going and the longer we can keep in the top half, the better our season will be.”
Lennon installed a culture of belief around Central Park and Nicholl has added to that with Ramsay commenting, “When we were moved up to the Second Division, some people may have thought we were after survival but not us.
“We said privately that we wanted promotion and that belief grew after a few games when we played people and the gap between the divisions was not as large as you may have thought.
“There is still a long way to go but with the belief we have, well you just never know what can happen,” said Ramsay although there was a very down to earth message relayed as well when he said, “We will not be getting carried away all the same.”
Ramsay announced his own arrival to the First Division last Saturday with a goal that will be a real highlight in this week’s sfl.tv highlights programme. The 24-year-old brought Cappielow alive last week with a stunning overhead kick to open the scoring in 52 minutes.
“It was not a bad one,” joked Ramsay who added, “I could not have hit the ball better.
“Mark Baxter chipped the ball in and it was falling just behind me so I thought why not. I connected with it well but I was not sure where it had ended up until I heard the reaction of the crowd.
“I ran towards the Morton fans as they had blue and white scarves on and were clapping as well but I soon realised my mistake. It is the only overhead kick I have ever scored and Jimmy Nicholl was wondering where it came from as I have not done it in training before.”
Some observers may have thought that Morton, backed by their home fans, would go on and win after Stewart Kean had levelled Ramsay’s opener however, John Dempster struck to take all points back onboard the Cowdenbeath team bus.
Ramsay said “I was not surprised when we came back after losing the lead. We still have that belief that Danny gave us and the new Manager has instilled a never say die attitude into us as well.”
Dunfermline are up next with Ramsay saying, “This will be a strange one for me as the majority of my family are Dunfermline fans.
“I had a season ticket for East End Park when I was a boy but I had to give that up when I signed for Falkirk.
“This will be one of the biggest games I have ever been involved in and I hope it is a really good game. Mind you, if I score an overhead kick in this game, I may not get back into my mum’s house for a wee while!”
The Pars can expect to face the same determination with Ramsay commenting, “We will go for the full 90 minutes and I cannot see that changing.
“I have to say however, that sitting above Dundee and Partick Thistle in the First Division table at the moment seems a bit surreal.”
Ramsay leaves you with the impression that football and doing well for Cowdenbeath matter to him and he put that down to a love of the game saying, “I love being a footballer, it is as simple as that.
“It is hard work especially when you are part-time and working from eight in the morning to five at night and then training.
“I spend my days as a plumber and that can be hard going when the dark nights come in and you have to start training but at the end of the day, I love it.”
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