Report

Raith Rovers closed the gap to fourth place to just two points on Saturday after drawing 1-1 against a rejuvenated Airdrieonians team.  

Chris Mochrie’s first half strike was cancelled out by a Jamie Gullan header just 3 minutes from halftime, and an action-packed second half somehow yielded no goals for either side.  

Barry Robson was forced into making one change after Finlay Pollock’s season-ending injury against Ayr a week earlier. Lewis Vaughan took his place, whilst Liam Dick and Euan Murray returned to the bench from illness.  

Airdrie kicked off what they hoped would be another stepping stone in their path to surviving relegation. After a cagey start to the match, some chances started to materialize. 

Lewis McGrattan was put through on goal in the 14th minute and attempted to round an on-rushing Josh Rae. The Airdrie man went down but the Referee was far from convinced – Goal kick Rovers.  

The Starks Park crowd grew excited as news broke that Partick Thistle were already 2 goals down, which meant a win for Raith Could push them up to fourth. Airdrie had other plans however…  

Airdrie kept probing forward and caught Raith’s defence out after a deflected clearance bounced into the path of Chris Mochrie, who was around 15 yards from goal. The Airdrie midfielder didn’t even give The Rovers a chance to react as he lashed a first-time half-volley into the bottom right corner, putting his side ahead in the 19th minute.  

Easton and Matthews both came close to levelling the game soon after, but their respective efforts both ended up just wide of the mark. An equaliser was looking likely as halftime approached.  

Raith kept their efforts up and crafted a chance to cross a ball into the box after dispossessing Airdrie in the midfield. Josh Mullin collected out wide-right and whipped a cross towards the six-yard line. Jamie Gullan had burst into the box to meet the pass and his glancing header from close range hit the net – levelling the match in the 43rd minute.  

Neither side could have any complaints with the scoreline going into the interval, and the second half got underway after Airdrie swapped McGrattan for McGregor.  

Raith almost scored just seconds into the half after Vaughan found Easton in the box. The latter couldn’t direct his effort goalward however, and Airdrie restarted with a goal kick.   

Airdrie still looked dangerous, with some quick bursts up the pitch providing some good chances. The ball hit the Raith net in the 51st minute – but only after the referee had stopped play for a foul on the Raith defence.  

Raith survived a promising looking start to the second half from Airdrie and momentum quickly started to shift in their favour. Callum Fordyce came close after rising to meet a corner, but his header cannoned off the bar.  

Both sides made changes and Raith started to look the more dangerous out of the two sides. This didn’t stop Airdrie’s Gavin Gallagher from striking the joint of the goal from 25 yards out though – an effort which would have been spectacular had it been an inch lower.  

Raith had a golden chance to take the lead after substitute Aidan Connolly’s strike was parried back out towards Scott Brown. The entire south stand rose to their feet as an empty net awaited, but the Rovers skipper judged the bounce wrong, leaving the ball to harmlessly go out for a goal kick.  

For all of Raith’s efforts, they just could not find the net as the second half went on. The final whistle confirmed a stalemate between the two sides – who will both have some work to do in the coming weeks if they wish to meet their season’s targets. Raith now sit two points off of fourth with three matches remaining.  

Next up, Raith will plan on spoiling Falkirk’s title celebrations this Saturday as they continue their hunt for fourth place away from home.    

–Written by Hamish Rankine  

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