Sat 26th March / 15:00 / 2021-22 / / away
Arbroath vs Raith Rovers
Reports
A gutsy Rovers away performance was undone as they let a 3-1 lead slip as Arbroath fought back to an enthralling 3-3 draw at Gayfield.
Goals from Matej Poplatnik, Aidan Connolly and Ethon Varian weren't enough as Dick Campbell’s side sought to take advantage of a reshuffled Rovers backline as injuries ravaged the camp, with two second half goals from Dale Hilson coming back to haunt the Paul Smith - led side.
On what was nothing short of a stunning day on the Angus coast, Rovers got off to the worst possible start as they found themselves going a goal behind with under a minute on the clock as Jack Hamilton rocketed his side in front with a pinpoint finish inside the box.
Nicky Low’s corner from the right-hand side was half cleared at the front post, which was headed across the six-yard line for Jason Thomson to try and volley towards goal from a tight angle, but a Rovers body got in the way, meaning the ball bounced back across the box, and into the path of Hamilton, who made no mistake in rifling the ball into the top left corner with a brilliant first-time finish as Rovers failed to clear their lines.
Testament to the work by John McGlynn and Paul Smith in recent weeks, Rovers dug deep and found themselves on level terms on the cusp of the half hour mark thanks to that man again, Matej Poplatnik who netted his third goal in three games with a great instinctive finish. Ethon Varian did well to win the ball on half way and loft a ball over the top of the Arbroath backline, allowing the Slovenian to run in behind and one on one with Callum Antell, who hesitated in picking the ball up on the edge of his area, which in turn caused him to spill the ball into the path of the Rovers forward who lunged and forced the ball into the bottom left-hand corner from eighteen yards with an instinctive finish to level things up before going into the half time interval.
Rovers second half couldn’t have gotten off to a better start as they found themselves going 2-1 up and ahead for the first time three minutes after the restart as Aidan Connolly’s New Year resurgence continued. Some great work down the left from Sean Mackie saw him bypass a sea of Arbroath bodies as he made his way into the box, evading tackles left right and centre, before hitting the by-line and finding the run of Connolly, who drifted into the back stick unmarked to sweep the ball home with a left footed finish from 8-yards out.
Ethon Varian thought he had Rovers home and hosed with little over 25 minutes to play as he capped off a scintillating Rovers counter-attack to make it 3-1 and have the promotion push firmly back on the cards as they moved on level terms with Partick Thistle, who lost out to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
Some fantastic hold-up play from Poplatnik in his own half saw him spin away from Ricky Little and free Connolly down the right-hand side, who sprinted to get to the ball down the line ahead of Thomson and flick the ball in behind the full back for Varian to run onto, with the Stoke loanee making no mistake in shifting the ball out to the left to create an angle and then fire the ball across Antell and into the bottom right corner.
However, this spurred Arbroath into life as they fought back to level the game up with two goals inside three minutes from Dale Hilson looked to flip the game on its head. As Rovers sat deep and soaked up the pressure, Nicky Low lifted the ball into the area for Hamilton to flick on, beating McKay in the air, allowing Hilson to ghost into the box unmarked and head the ball first time past Robbie Thomson with a diving effort from 12 yards into the bottom right corner making It 3-2 four minutes later.
Dick Campbells side smelt blood and found themselves on level terms with 20-mintues to play. The Red Lichties overloaded the left wing, causing Connolly and Tumilty problems as they couldn’t clear their lines, with Varian coming back to help out, with his clearance going back across his own box as opposed to away from goal. This meant McKay headed the ball back out to Donnelly on the left, who cut back onto his right foot at the edge of the box and curled a dangerous ball into the back post, for Jack Hamilton to head towards goal onto the crossbar and back into play, allowing Hilson to follow up and head home from a few yards out.
The equaliser meant that the gap between Rovers and Thistle opened back up to two points as the promotion push took another twist in the tale as the season enters its final stages.
Photographs © Eddie Doig.
Photos
©Eddie Doig
Highlights
Interviews
Paul Smith talked to RaithTV after the 3-3 draw at Gayfield:
Goalscorer Aidan Connolly talked to RaithTV after the match: