Match Preview: Queen of the South (Away)

Queen of the South v  Raith Rovers  Saturday 22nd November Palmerston Park, Dumfries  Kick off: 5.30pm

 Admission Prices:

 Adults £16 

OAP/Concessions £9

Under 16 £5 

Match Preview: 

Raith Rovers travel to Palmerston Park, Dumfries this weekend, looking to build on Saturday’s comeback win over Cowdenbeath. Goals from Kevin Moon and Christian Nadé eventually gave Raith Rovers a 2-1 win in the Kingdom derby, a victory which closed the gap on the teams above them, in the battle for the promotion play-off spots.

Rovers are now just one point behind Hibernian, and four behind Saturday’s opponents Queen of the South, and while the Doonhamers are in fine form and unbeaten in five matches, Rovers have enjoyed a good record at Saturday’s venue over the years.

Queens recent managerial appointment, James Fowler has continued the good work carried out by his predecessor, Jim McIntyre, losing just twice since becoming the incumbent of the managerial position.

The last match between the sides ended up as something of a classic, especially the final half-hour, which produced five goals in a ding-dong battle. Raith were already two goals down when Grant Murray introduced Mark Stewart and Grant Anderson to the fray, and they provided the spark for a late flurry of action. Stewart scored with almost his first touch of the ball, before Christian Nadé pounced to make it two each. Stewart equalised again after Derek Lyle had put Queen of the South in front yet again, but the visitors weren’t to be denied, grabbing the winner at the death, through an Iain Russell goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

The match was shown live on BBC Alba, and it’s frenetic ending, is perhaps the reason that this match has been chosen to be broadcast by the Gaelic speaking channel. As a consequence, the match will kick off at 17:30 on Saturday evening.

Raith certainly face a tough task, against a side with a formidable home record this season. Only Hearts have picked up more points on their home ground so far, while no-one has conceded less goals at home than the Dumfries side.

Unusually, there’s very rarely a draw between these two teams, with just one meeting ending all-square from their last 16 encounters, while their head-to-head record is neck-and-neck over the last ten meetings, with five wins apiece.

Saturday’s match referee will be Stephen Finnie.

Head-to-Head League Record at Palmerston Park:

Queen of the South wins: 16 | Raith Rovers wins: 15 | Draws: 15

Queen of the South goals: 72 | Raith Rovers goals: 65

Biggest Home Win: 31/10/1953 Division One Queen of the South 5 Raith Rovers 1

                              24/11/1962 Division One Queen of the South 5 Raith Rovers 1

Biggest Away Win: 05/12/1987 Division One Queen of the South 1 Raith Rovers 5

                              06/10/1956 Division One Queen of the South 1 Raith Rovers 5

Current Form:

Queen of the South: L-W-W-D-W-D

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

Top Goalscorers in all Competitions:

Queen of the South: Iain Russell 8 | Derek Lyle 7 | Gavin Reilly 7

Raith Rovers: Ryan Conroy 5 | Christian Nade 4 | Mark Stewart 3

Match Odds:

Queen of the South: 17/20 | Raith Rovers: 16/5 | Draw: 13/5

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