Match Preview: Hearts

Raith Rovers  V  Hearts  Saturday 21st July 2018  New Bayview Stadium Kick off: 3.00pm  Betfred Cup Group Stage C

Admission Information:

Adult – £15 

Under 16 / Over 65 – £8

 This is an all ticket fixture. Tickets will be available for Raith Rovers support from New Bayview from 1.30pm.

Match Preview:

Raith Rovers will be looking for a much improved performance this weekend, when Hearts are the visitors to Bayview Stadium.

A 2-0 loss to Cowdenbeath means Raith face an extremely tricky task of qualifying for the second round, with wins from the next three fixtures almost certainly required to make the next phase of the League Cup.

After an underwhelming season by their own standards last term, the Heart of Midlothian squad was given extensive overhaul of the summer, with eleven new arrivals in Gorgie, as eight players exited the capital club.

Craig Levein’s men got off to a winning start on Wednesday evening, although they didn’t have it all their own way against Cove Rangers, eventually taking all three points with a 2-1 win.

These two clubs have only shared a division once since 1997, but they’ve regularly been paired together in cup competitions since then, with their last meeting coming in January of last year.

The Scottish Cup Fourth Round tie at Stark’s Park appeared to be heading the way of the visitors thanks to Jamie Walker’s effort, but a last minute shot from Rudi Skacel was skelped past Jack Hamiton via a deflection off Declan McManus, meaning the tie would have to be settled at Tynecastle. Despite goals from Bobby Barr and Ryan Hardie, Hearts eventually won through 4-2 after extra time.

The two have also faced each other in League Cup action reasonably recently too, August 2014 to be exact, in a match that contained a fair amount of controversy.

Liam Fox fired Rovers ahead in the 50th minute, although it was a short lived lead, with Jamie Hamill equalising from the penalty shortly after. Dougie Hill was then dismissed for an incident with the same player in the 74th minute, and despite holding on shorthanded until the end of extra-time, four missed penalties out of eight from the home side, saw Hearts progress 5-4 on penalties.

It’s safe to say Raith don’t have the greatest of records in this fixture, with no wins and nine defeats from the last ten meetings.

Saturday’s match referee will be Don Robertson

Head-To-head League Cup Record:

Raith Rovers Wins: 3 | Hearts Wins: 12 | Draws: 0

Raith Rovers Goals: 16 | Hearts Goals: 33

Match Odds:

Raith Rovers: 7/2 | Hearts: 4/6 | Draws: 14/5

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