Report

Raith produced a much-needed result on Saturday against their notorious ‘bogey’ opponents after dispatching Airdrieonians 3-1 at Starks Park.

A goalless first half led to a cagey atmosphere around the ground during the interval, and an opening goal from the visitors didn’t help after things got back underway. The Rovers team rallied though, scoring three goals in quick succession to ensure all three points remained in Kirkcaldy.

Dougie Imrie made four changes after a stinging 3-0 defeat away to Dunfermline a week earlier, with Innes Cameron, Ross Matthews, Andy Winter, and Callum Fordyce coming into the starting eleven. Jai Rowe, Darragh O’Connor, and Josh Mullin all took places on the bench, whilst Jack Hamilton missed out through injury.

A minute’s applause for the late Gordon Wallace pre-empted the match before Raith got things going and, after a fairly quiet opening ten minutes, almost opened the scoring through Lewis Vaughan. A neat move down the right gave the Rovers man a chance to shoot from ten yards out, but his effort to wrap the ball into the bottom right corner struck the post and deflected away.

Airdrie started to make inroads and forced a good but comfortable save from Josh Rae after Chris Mochrie attempted to bend one inside the right post in the 23^rd minute.

The Rovers created another good chance to open the scoring in the 26^th minute after a corner to the far post was worked back, causing some defensive chaos along the way. Winter managed to volley an effort past the keeper, but a goal-line clearance denied the shot from finding the net.

Raith crafted another opportunity around ten minutes later when Vaughan put Cameron through on goal with an inch-perfect pass. The striker was met by an on-rushing Harry Stone, who did well to deny and hold Innes’ centrally placed effort. For all Raith’s attacking efforts, they would go into the break without a goal to show for it.

An injury to Vaughan moments before the interval gave Imrie a decision to make, which saw Kai Montagu come on before the second half kicked off.

Raith continued to push forward, but it was Airdrie who found the net first after a quick move down the right saw Adam Devine exploit some space on the left. The ball was cleverly worked out to the left-back, and his drilled effort from the edge of the box got past Rae after a deflection wrong-footed the Rovers’ shot stopper. Airdrie had put themselves ahead in the 54^th minute, and had placed Raith joint-bottom of the league for the time being.

The Rovers looked to make amends quickly, and won a corner ten minutes on from their setback. Easton swung the ball towards Fordyce at the front post, and his far-post flick-on was aptly placed for Innes Cameron to fire home from close range, levelling the match in the 64^th minute.

Cameron continued to cause bother for the Airdrie defence, and almost notched another contribution just two minutes on from his first, after he smartly headed the ball back across goal following a Doherty cross. Montagu raced to get on the end of it, but the youngster poked the ball over the bar – to the agony of the home support.

The midfielder would ridicule such agony shortly after though, with a corner in the 75^th minute causing a scramble in Airdrie’s penalty area. Montagu did well to get control of the ball on the edge of a crowded six-yard box, before blasting the ball into the net via the crossbar. The 20-year-old’s first goal for the club was certainly an important one, but he didn’t stop there…

Airdrie piled the pressure on in the wake of Raith taking the lead, but some confident defending left Rae with little to do.

Substitute Richard Chin had looked sharp on the right since his introduction, and played his part in a third after putting Doherty in down the wing. The latter fired a ball into the box from the touchline, which saw Montagu leap highest and head home for goal number three, giving Raith a two-goal cushion with around five minutes to go.

Raith saw the remainder of the match out with little trouble, earning them a crucial three points amidst a tight Championship table.

The Result places Raith in 7^th, with seven league matches remaining.

Next up: The Rovers return to Starks Park to resolve their game in hand against 2^nd placed Partick Thistle this Tuesday night.

Written by Hamish Rankine.

Photos