Report

Raith Rovers booked their place in the Challenge Cup final on Wednesday night after dispatching Airdrie through penalties following a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time.  

A special strike gave Raith the lead ten minutes into the second half, but a late equaliser from the hosts sent the tie straight to a deciding penalty shootout.  

Dougie Imrie made two changes to his starting lineup following the team’s goalless draw against St Johnstone four days earlier, with Andy Winter and Paul Nsio starting over Ross Matthews and Innes Cameron. The pair took places on a full bench, which included Callum Fordyce for the first time in four months – marking his return from an injury sustained in training last year.  

Airdrie got things underway at the Excelsior Stadium and made their attacking intentions known early on after a good bit of play down the left allowed Euan Henderson to get a shot away in the 7th minute. His effort was comfortably gathered by Rae at the near post, but Airdrie’s left flank would remain a danger as the match went on.  

Both sides went on to trade some blows around the tenth minute, with Jack Hamilton putting a header wide just minutes before a corner routine saw Cole McKinnon’s attempt narrowly deflect away from the Rovers’ goal.  

Raith crafted what was arguably the best chance of the half in the 23rd minute when Lewis Vaughan and Dylan Easton combined well on the edge of Airdrie’s penalty area. A neat one-two gave Easton the chance to shoot, but he dragged the ball millimetres wide as he tried to find the bottom left corner.  

Airdrie came close just three minutes from halftime after a corner to the back post found the head of Craig Ross. Rae did well to save the awkward attempt on goal though, and gathered the eventual rebound a few moments later.  

Raith were forced into a change just four minutes into the second half after Jack Hamilton went down through injury, which left Innes Cameron to take his place. Raith didn’t let the unplanned change hamper them though, and looked the more energetic team in the minutes following the restart.  

Such energy would eventually pay dividends after Easton got on the ball far from goal on the left wing. Airdrie opted to give him a bit of time, which allowed The Rovers Showman to drive into the box before cutting inside. A curling effort into the top right followed – giving Raith the lead with around 35 minutes left on the clock.  

Raith pushed for a second, with a flurry of set-pieces leading to some ultimately unsuccessful half-chances.  

The Rovers continued their attacking endeavours, and could have doubled their lead after a clinical through-ball from Nsio put Winter in on goal. Winter looked up before attempting to pick his spot, but ultimately rifled the ball into the hands of Harry Stone amidst some good pressure from the Airdrie defence.  

Airdrie made a series of substitutions which involved the introductions of Scott Constable and Jake Hastie in the 74th minute, and went on to throw everything they had towards a late leveller. Raith’s defence held strong though, putting them ever closer to their first win away to Airdrie in six years. Rovers’ fans will know though, an away day to Airdrie is rarely succinct…  

The Diamonds didn’t let their repelled efforts get the better of them and loaded the box with players at every opportunity. This would pay off after Constable fashioned a chance to swing a ball into the box from wide, which curled towards the back post. A slight defensive header almost put the ball out of reach of any Airdrie threat, but Hastie was there to turn the ball in from close range – levelling the match in the 87th minute.  

Extra time is omitted when the Challenge Cup is concerned, which means the tie was decided by going straight to a penalty shootout.  

Raith took first, and engaged in a series of perfect penalties with Mullin, Hanlon, and Matthews all firing into the bottom corner amid some equally confident efforts from Airdrie. Such confidence would falter at the third time of asking though after Lewis McGrattan blasted his spot-kick over the bar.  

Advantage Rovers.  

Airdrie would have been hoping for some goalkeeper heroics or a misplaced Rovers penalty, but Jai Rowe’s converted effort in off the post allowed Cameron to fire Raith into the final after putting his penalty down the middle, winning the shootout 5-3 in Raith’s favour.  

Raith now face their fifth Challenge Cup final in 12 years, and will be looking to add to the three successful campaigns they’ve manufactured in that time when they play Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a to-be-decided date, time, and venue.  

Raith will be reverting their focus now though, with a trip to Dingwall setting up a league match against last-placed Ross County this Saturday.  

Written by Hamish Rankine 

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