Match Preview: Ayr United

Raith Rovers  V  Ayr United  Stark’s Park Kick off: 7.45pm  Tuesday 22nd November 2016

 Admission Prices:

Adult – £15
Junior (Under 16, when accompanied by an adult) – £5
Junior (12-16, when unaccompanied) – £8
Senior Citizen (Over 65) – £8
Student / Jobseeker – £10
Disability & Carer Concession – £8 

Adults pay at the gate while all concessions must purchase tickets from the ticket office, with proof of entitlement.

Match Preview:  

After Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Dumbarton, Rovers can move back above Morton and into third place in the Championship table on Tuesday evening, if they can overcome Ian McCall’s Ayr United side at Stark’s Park.

Whilst scoring goals has become harder for Rovers in recent weeks, they’ve remained unbeaten in their last five matches due to their excellent defensive record, while Ayr have lost their last three, since a 1-0 win over Queen of the South in October.

If Ayr are to leave Kirkcaldy with all three points, they’ll need to overcome a Rovers team with an impressive home record, with only Rangers, Alloa and Falkirk able to register an away win at Stark’s Park in 2016.

That said, it’s been a long time since Raith managed a home win against Ayr, 2008 to be exact, when goals from Gary Wales, Kevin Smith and a last-minute Graeme Weir winner pulled off a 3-2 victory.

Tuesday night’s match will be the club’s second meeting of the season, with the other producing a 2-0 win for Raith on the opening day of the season. Ross Callachan opened the scoring in the first period, before Ross Matthews made it two in the second.

Since then however, Ian McCall has made moves to strengthen the Honest Men’s squad, with Gary Harkins joining after his release from Dundee, while ex-Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle defender Conrad Balatoni has brought an increased rigidity to the back-line.

Despite that result in August, Rovers have a poor recent record in this fixture, with just two wins and four draws from the last ten meetings.

Tuesday night’s match referee will be Craig Charleston.

Head-To-Head League Record at Stark’s Park:

Raith Rovers Wins: 32 | Ayr United Wins: 17 | Draws: 21

Raith Rovers Goals: 129 | Ayr United Goals: 80

Current Form: 

Raith Rovers: L-D-W-W-D-D

Ayr United: W-W-W-L-L-L

Top Goal Scorers:

Raith Rovers: Mark Stewart 5 | Declan McManus 4 | Ross Callachan 3

Ayr United: Allan Forrest 7 | Conrad Balatoni 2 | Paul Cairney 2 | Brian Gilmour 2 | Craig McGuffie 2 | Kevin Nisbet 2

Match Odds:

Raith Rovers: 4/5 | Ayr United: 7/2 | Draw: 13/5

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