Match Preview: Rangers (Home)

Raith Rovers  v  Rangers  Friday 20th February 2015 Stark’s Park, Kirkcaldy  Kick off: 7.45pm

Admission Prices: 

Adults – £17 

Under 16s and Over 65s – £9 

Disabled and carer – Half price

Rangers fans can buy tickets from the ticket office up until 6pm.

Raith Rovers fans wishing allocated seating in the Main Stand can purchase tickets at the turnstiles. The South Stand will be cash turnstiles.

Match Preview:

Friday night football returns to Stark’s Park this weekend, when Raith Rovers face Rangers for the second time in just under two weeks, with Rovers looking for a repeat of the performance that brought their first victory over Rangers at Ibrox since 1959.

The meeting sees two teams who are in contrasting form. Rovers are now seven games unbeaten, while Rangers have won just four of their last ten matches in all competitions, losing the other six. That sequence has seen Kenny MacDowall’s side slip to third in the Championship table, although they do have three games in hand over second placed Hibernian.

While Raith have emerged victorious in the last two meetings between the sides in cup competitions, they’ve fared a lot poorer in the two league encounters this term, conceding ten goals in the process. Goals from Nicky Clark, Ian Black, Nicky Law and a penalty from Lee McCulloch, saw Rangers win comfortably at Stark’s Park in September, with the 4-0 victory temporarily moving Rangers top of the league.

The return match at Ibrox in October was an even more chastening experience for Grant Murray’s side. Lee McCulloch and Nicky Law gave Rangers a 2-0 lead, before Martin Scott halved the deficit early in the second-period. However, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished almost immediately by Kenny Miller, while further goals from Kris Boyd, and two from Jon Daly, saw Rangers run out 6-1 winners.

Whilst Rangers form may of dipped recently, they still have an imperious record against the teams outwith the top four, dropping just four points, all of them against Alloa Athletic, in 14 matches. They also have a formidable defensive record away from home this season, with just nine goals conceded in ten games. Only table-topping Hearts have a more solid defensive away record.

A win for Rangers on Friday evening would move them back up to second, but they may find it tough against a Rovers side who are making a fine habit of scoring late goals this season. Ross Callachan’s late, late strike against Falkirk was the second time in as many weeks that the team have plundered a dramatic draw, after Christian Nadé did the same at Easter Road at the end of January.

If Rovers are to take something from this game however, they’ll need to overturn a poor record against Rangers in the league, which sees them with just four draws and no victories from their last 14 league meetings, with their last win in the league coming in a 2-1 win in 1970.

Saturday’s match referee will be Craig Charleston.

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

Raith Rovers wins: 8 | Rangers wins: 26 | Draws: 7

Raith Rovers goals: 48 | Rangers goals: 90

Current Form:

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

Rangers: L-W-W-L-L-L

Top Goalscorers in All Competitions:

Raith Rovers: Ryan Conroy 8 | Christian Nadé 7 | Mark Stewart 4

Rangers: Nicky Law 10 | Kris Boyd 9 | Lewis Macleod 8

Match Odds:

Raith Rovers: 15/4 | Rangers: 7/10 |Draw: 14/5

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