Elgin City manager Gavin Price hailed the tenacity of his players in grinding out six points from perilous positions in the last two matches.
The Borough Briggs men, for the second week running, struck late to secure full points with Cameron Eadie breaking the deadlock five minutes from time.
With Stirling Albion edged out by Peterhead, Elgin moved fifth, just a point adrift of the play-off zone.
Price said: “Cowdenbeath made it very difficult for us but we showed good character to win it late on for the second week in a row. We didn’t create a lot of chances but there were a few near things towards the end of the second half – and luckily one of them managed to go in.
“I’m delighted for the players they got the three points. They weren’t flowing at their best, partly due to the way Cowdenbeath played and partly because we didn’t move the ball quickly enough to get in behind them.
“We could have been a bit sharper and more fluent in the way we played but it’s the end result that matters.”
Price, who stepped up from the assistant manager’s role to replace Jim Weir in October, is confident Elgin can be in the mix for promotion entering the crucial phase of the season.
He added: “Getting six points in the last two weeks has been vital for us because it keeps us in touch with the top teams in the league going for those play-off positions. We’ve got to be pleased.
“Now we go again and try to make it three in a row at Berwick next week.”
Bottom-of-the-table Cow-denbeath fought tooth and nail to get a result.
In a tense first half of few chances, Ben Reilly had an early shot saved for the visitors, while Cowdenbeath defender David Syme made a brave block to deny Brian Cameron in Elgin’s only sniff of goal.
The Fifers were dealt a blow, though, when midfielder Kyle Miller picked up a second yellow card for a trip on an opponent 30 seconds into the second half and was sent off.
The 10 men nearly took the lead when full back Harvey Swann broke forward, played a one-two and curled a shot just past on 56 minutes.
Elgin struggled to make the one-man advantage count but finally broke through on 85 minutes.
From a corner on the left, a scramble broke out in the six-yard box and centre back Eadie forced the ball home to the joy of the home support.