Match Preview: Forfar Atheltic

Raith Rovers  V  Forfar Athletic  Stark’s Park  Saturday 19th August 2017 Kick off: 3.00pm

 Admission Information:

*All concession tickets must be purchased at the ticket office before entering the turnstiles. Valid I.D or proof of status is required so please ensure you have suitable, photographic I.D with you.

**Under 16 tickets are £5 for the month of August. Prices will then revert to the normal price of £8.

Away support will be housed in the Turnbull Hutton stand.

The Raith Suite bar will be open from 12.30pm to home and away fans. 

Match Preview:

Whilst it wasn’t without a scare or two, Raith Rovers made it through to the second round of the Irn Bru Cup in midweek, with their second straight 3-0 win, and they’ll be looking for a repeat of that kind of scoreline, when Garry Bollan’s Forfar Athletic side visit Stark’s Park.

The two teams met last year in the Irn Bru Cup, with Raith on the receiving end of a 3-2 defeat. Mark Stewart put Rovers in-front after 20 minutes, but it was a goal which came very much against the run of play, with Lewis Milne equalising, before two goals from Josh Peters gave the Loons a 3-1 lead. Declan McManus did get Rovers back into it with just over 20 minutes remaining, but despite Rovers pressure late on, Forfar deservedly took their place in the next round.

Bollan’s team would eventually earn promotion via the playoffs last term, although they led the way for the vast majority of the season, losing out on the title to fierce rivals Arbroath on the last day of the season.

Despite last season’s success, a number of players have left Station Park over the summer, most notably Danny Denholm, Gavin Swankie, Josh Peters and Tom O’Brien, but Bollan has brought in a huge number of new faces to bolster his squad.

Former Rovers players, Simon Mensing and Scott McBride have both been brought in, while Dylan Easton was acquired after he left Clyde, while Ouzy See could start up front after he left Edinburgh City.

Marc McCallum is staking his claim to be the Loons number one, after leaving Plymouth Argyle, and former Falkirk central midfielder, Mark Millar has also been signed after a spell with Peterhead.

Forfar finished bottom of their League Cup section, but they did win their opening league match against Airdrie,  it went down to Ayr last week by three goals to nil.

The two sides haven’t shared a division since the 2006/07 season, and while Rovers didn’t lose any of the four meetings, they were all close, with two 2-1 wins and two draws.

Despite that unbeaten sequence, Rovers and Forfar have identical records over the last ten league meetings, with four wins and two draws apiece.

Saturday’s match referee will be Alan Newlands.

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

Raith Rovers Wins: 23 | Forfar Athletic Wins: 10 | Draws: 4

Raith Rovers Goals: 84 | Forfar Athletic Goals: 52

Current Form: 

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

Forfar Athletic: D-L-L-W-L-L

Top Goal Scorers:

Raith Rovers: Lewis Vaughan 8 | Liam Buchanan 3

Forfar Athletic: Mark Millar 4

Match Odds:

Raith Rovers: 8/15 | Forfar Athletic: 5/1 | Draw: 10/3

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