Club 28/12/2018
Match Preview: East Fife (Home)
| Raith Rovers
V East Fife Stark’s Park Saturday 29th December Kick off: 3.00pm |
After last weekend’s excellent 2-0 win over Arbroath, Raith Rovers go into Saturday’s Fife derby looking to increase the pressure on the League One pace setters.
That 2-0 victory reduced the gap at the top to 10 points, but with Rovers currently on a run of five wins in six, they’ll be looking to tale advantage of any slip ups from the Red Lichties.
They only way they’ll do that is with a repeat of the kind of performance they put in at Gayfield, which won’t be easy against an East Fife team which is sitting third in the table, and who are unbeaten against Rovers this term.
Raith were lucky to escape with a point when the two sides met at Stark’s Park in August, with two Kevin Nisbet penalties cancelling out a Scott Agnew brace for East Fife, in a game which the visitors created the lion’s share of chances.
The second meeting was just last month, and it marked the Methil men’s first win over Rovers in 31 years, despite Liam Buchanan handing John McGlynn’s side the lead after 11 minutes, with Kevin Smith grabbing the equaliser with 15 minutes remaining, before Aaron Dunsmore scored a dramatic last minute winner.
While that match came at the end of an imperious run of form for the Bayview side, it’s one of just three wins from their last eight league appearances, although they do go into the latest derby on the back of two straight wins, after defeating Stenhousemuir and Forfar in recent weeks, keeping them third in the table, five points clear of fourth placed Montrose.
Brett Long should be back between the posts for East Fife in this one, after a spell on the sidelines following his dismissal in the final minute of that match in November, and he’ll be behind a defence which is one of the meanest in the division, with Darryll Meggatt in particular enjoying a fantastic season at centre-half, despite generally being considered a left-back to trade.
In midfield, Scott Agnew is their main creative hub and the club’s top-scorer, and with a fantastic scoring record against Rovers down the years, he’ll need to be closely shackled for Raith to take all three points.
Up front, it’s perm any two from four, with Rory Currie, Anton Dowds and former Raith men, Jonny Courts and Kevin Smith all making positive contributions this term.