Report

Dougie Imrie’s debut match as manager of Raith Rovers ended with a victory on Saturday, with a 1-0 result over Alloa in the Scottish Cup coming just three days after his unveiling.  

A neat goal in the first half got The Rovers through to the next round of the cup, with some slick passing play creating further, yet ultimately goalless chances for The Rovers.   

Dougie Imrie made one change to the side that drew 0-0 away to Arbroath under interim player/manager, Paul Hanlon. Paul McMullan started over Callum Smith, who rotated to a slightly more populated bench this week with Ross Matthews returning from a minor injury.  

Alloa kicked off what would be the start of Raith’s 2025/26 Scottish Cup campaign. Glimpses of a new playstyle started to shine through for The Rovers, but Alloa defended well early on.  

A good number of fans in the south stand thought Josh Mullin had found the net from a free kick just outside the box in the 15th minute, but the narrow miss over the bar, combined with McAdams rustling his own net, disillusioned those in the home end.  

It was Hanlon’s turn to almost open the scoring just a matter of minutes later, after a ball to the back post gave him the chance to send a header towards goal. Some smart defending narrowed the angle though, which left the effort to harmlessly land in the side netting.  

Raith’s attacking efforts eventually paid off in the 27th minute, with a slick passing move down between Jordan Doherty and Dylan Easton allowing for the former to get a shot on goal after a one-two. Doherty gave McAdams no chance to save – placing the ball into the net via the post from around ten yards out.  

Alloa started to threaten as they looked for a reply, but a skyward shot from Burnside, coupled with a deflected effort from Roberts, gave Josh Rae little to do in the Rovers’ goal. Roberts later found himself trying to recreate McTominay’s overhead kick wondergoal from a few weeks earlier, but his attempt was completely mis-hit in the end.  

Raith kept their quick passing up in the second half, which almost resulted in a second after Jack Hamilton was put through on goal in the 50th minute. McFarlane did well to intervene against Hamilton, but McMullan’s chipped shot from 30 yards out had the goalkeeper scrambling back in order to deflect the effort over the bar.  

Imrie used up all five of his substitutions at various intervals throughout the second half, which saw a slight change in shape as they unfolded. Most notably, Ross Matthews was swapped for Paul Nsio, whilst Scott Brown made way for Jai Rowe later on.  

Jack Hamilton had a busy night up top for The Rovers, but a comfortable save alongside a glancing miss quelled any headed efforts from the striker.  

A late run from substitute Callum Smith forced McFarlane into a collapsing save late on, before the referee brought things to a close with the final whistle moments later.  

All in all, a successful night for both Raith Rovers and Dougie Imrie, who are now through to the next round of the Scottish Cup. In doing so, they’ve earned a trip to Aberdeen on the weekend of the 17th of January in the next stage.   

That tie will be a distant thought though, with league duties returning this weekend in the form of an away match to league leaders, St Johnstone.   

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