Fri 1st March / 19:45 / Championship 23/24 / Gayfield Park / away
Arbroath vs Raith Rovers
Line Up
Report
Raith Fall To Arbroath Comeback
A wet and windy Friday night under the lights at Gayfield Park produced an unfortunate twist in this season’s title-chasing tale for Raith, as they succumbed to a 3-2 loss away to Arbroath.
With this being the team’s third match in seven days, Ian Murray made six changes to his squad’s starting line-up, effectively swapping out the entire midfield and attack, in comparison to the team that started in a goal-less stalemate against Morton just three days prior. Most notably, Ross Matthews led the team out with the captain’s armband, earning his first start of the season.
Kick-Off
Raith dominated the first half, forcing multiple top-drawer saves from Arbroath’s veteran keeper Derek Gaston, whilst also coming close after a deep free-kick into the box found its way onto the post of the home team’s goal.
Raith eventually found their breakthrough, after Zak Rudden managed to control a ball swung in towards the edge of the box. After a neat one-two with Kyle Turner, Rudden took full advantage of the resultant pass, going on to place the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal with the outside of his boot, putting Raith a goal to the good just after the 25-minute mark.
Half-Time: Arbroath 0 – 1 Raith Rovers
Raith wasted no time in grabbing their second, with some excellent work once again by Rudden leading to Vaughan getting a shot away. After a big deflection from the Arbroath defence, Josh Mullin used his head to fire the ball into an empty net, doubling Rovers’ lead no more than five minutes into the second half.
Arbroath managed to weather the next 20 minutes as Raith pushed for a third. The home side’s defensive actions would prove to pay off as they started their comeback with their first goal of the night.
With just over an hour played, substitute striker Jay Bird fired in a lethal effort, as he turned and launched his shot beyond the outstretched arms of Dabrowski from the edge of the Raith box.
Arbroath found their equaliser after a ball swung into the Raith box was misjudged by the Raith keeper, which allowed Arbroath’s #9 Leighton McIntosh to head the ball in from six yards out, levelling the game in the 69th minute.
The home side went on to clinch their three points soon after, when a ball into the Raith box just couldn’t be cleared. After a pin-point ball was fired towards feet of substitute Mark Stowe, he made no mistake as he flicked the ball up and volleyed home from the edge of the six-yard box, scoring what proved to be the winner in the 77th minute.
With the sound of the final whistle, Arbroath earned their first win in ten matches, whilst also dealing Raith a severe blow in the Championship title challenge.
Full-Time: Arbroath 3 – 2 Raith Rovers
From being in complete control with 30 minutes to go, to finding themselves trailing the match just 17 minutes later, Raith will be hoping for a more resolute display with the last fife derby of the season approaching.
Written by Hamish Rankine