Report

The Fife Derby bragging rights were returned to Dunfermline on Friday after The Pars overcame Raith Rovers two goals to nil at East End Park.  

A set-piece goal in the first half followed by a swift counter-attacking move in the second was enough to win it for Dunfermline, with Raith failing to consistently threaten on the night.  

Barry Robson made three changes, with Darragh O’Connor making his debut for The Rovers. Lewis Stevenson and Shaun Byrne also returned to the starting eleven, with Wilson, Fordyce, and McMullan taking a place on the bench.  

Dunfermline kicked the match off with the cameras of BBC Scotland watching on. Raith produced the first promising chance of the match shortly after though, with Dylan Easton’s curling effort from the edge of the box comfortably sailing past the post.  

Those in the away end of East End Park would have hoped to see success through some more attacking moves from the Rovers. Such hopes were dented in the 20th minute however, when Barney Stewart hooked the ball over his head and into the net following a corner into the box.  

Dunfermline continued to press forward following their opener, but some tame efforts on goal coupled with a weak penalty claim didn’t allow the home side to increase their winning margin yet.  

Raith did produce a few more chances as the half went on, but a squandered shot from close range alongside a good save to deny a 20-yard effort from Easton kept The Pars ahead going into the break.  

Having failed to score in their last seven opening halves, expectations of an improved performance were high in the travelling support. Such expectations were almost immediately met early on in the second half, when Scott Brown’s ball into the box was pushed onto the joint of The Pars’ goal by Billy Terrell.  

The match started to heat up as challenges flew in from either side. The home support erupted in protest when substitute striker Chris Kane was penalised for a soft-looking challenge in the 77th minute. That didn’t stop him from joining the attack that followed two minutes later though, which produced a much more positive eruption from the home end after Kane bundled the ball over the line following a cross to the back post.  

Dunfermline had the ball in the back of the net again four minutes later, with Andrew Tod sweeping the ball into the far corner of the Raith goal. The offside flag came to Raith’s aid, although it would be little comfort come the full-time whistle.  

The Rovers continue to venture through a turbulent portion of their season, with three straight losses in a row sliding the team slightly further away from the top four.  

Raith have the chance to make amends this Saturday, when Partick Thistle come to Starks Park for match number 12 of the Scottish Championship season.  

Written by Hamish Rankine.