Sat 12th March / 15:00 / 2021-22 / / away
Queen of the South vs Raith Rovers
Reports
Rovers Record Vital win at Palmerston
Matej Poplatnik’s first half strike was enough to keep John McGlynn’s hopes of making the SPFL Premiership Promotion Play-off's alive after Rovers saw off Queen of the South in a 1-0 victory at Palmerston.
The Slovenian’s finish on the rebound just shy of the 20-minute mark kept Rovers within touching distance of Inverness in third place as Partick Thistle fell to fourth place after a 2-1 defeat against Morton at Cappielow Park.
Rovers needed all that they could muster as they travelled south to Dumfries with an injury ravaged squad (8 first team regulars were unavailable through injury and illness), with only three outfield players listed on the bench come two o’clock this afternoon.
Rovers started the game brightly and should’ve been ahead with less than 10 minutes on the clock. Aidan Connolly picked the ball up inside the Queens half and had one thought on his mind as he drove forward. He opted to let rip from 30-yards with a low shot that forced Josh Rae into a comfortable save.
Poplatnik would have his first sight of goal with 12 minutes on the clock as he saw an ambitious diving header from the edge of the box flash wide of the mark.
He would however get the better of Rae seven minutes later. The Livingston loanee managed to get his head on the end of a ball into the box which forced a great reaction save out of Rae in the Queens net, but his poachers instinct meant he followed up his initial effort to slam the ball home from a yard or so out to put Rovers into an early first half lead.
Frankie Musonda thought he’d done enough to double his side’s lead seven minutes before the break as he connected well with a deep free kick from the left-hand side at the back post, but his effort back across goal couldn’t quite curve back inside the post nor could a teammate get the final touch.
Rovers had Jamie MacDonald to thank for keeping the lead intact after the break with the former Hearts keeper pulling off a stunning save to prevent Wullie Gibson’s free kick nestling into the bottom right corner on the hour mark.
He would then breathe a sigh of relief in the dying embers of the game as Queens utility man Euan East picked the ball up on the edge of the penalty area, with Rovers withstanding a hell of a lot of Queens pressure, his turn and eventual snapshot flew just wide of the mark as Rovers did all that they could to hold on for what could turn out to be a precious three points as the cinch Championship proved that there are still many twists and turns to be endured between now and the end of the season in which the final league standings could go down to the wire.
Photos
© Eddie Doig
Highlights
Interviews
John McGlynn spoke to RaithTV after the win against Queen of the South: