Report

Raith Rovers lost their second home match in a row on Saturday after a 3-2 defeat to Arbroath, despite a spirited Rovers comeback in the second half.  

Arbroath made the most of their chances and deservedly led the match 2-0 at the break, but some substitutions at half-time helped Raith level the match before The Lichties snatched all three points.  

Dougie Imrie made one change from Raith’s 1-0 victory against Queen of the South in the Challenge Cup midweek, with Paul McMullan starting in place of Paul Nsio. Several players, such as Vaughan, Matthews, and Stevenson, continued to miss out through injury.  

Raith created some half-chances in the opening minutes of the match, but couldn’t get a shot on target. Arbroath also looked lively, forcing a panic at the back at one point following a mis-hit clearance. Rae managed to gather, but the game wouldn’t remain goalless for much longer.  

Raith had more than their fair share of the ball in the opening half an hour, but Arbroath would strike first after some misfortune in The Rovers’ box saw the ball fall to Gavin Rielly just yards from goal. The striker had the entirety of Raith’s goal to aim at, and there was nothing Josh Rae could do to stop the powerful effort from hitting the net in the 27th minute.  

The visitors almost doubled their lead a few minutes later, with a period of Raith passing the ball along their defensive line gifting Rielly a chance to shoot from the edge of the area. Josh Rae did very well to tip the effort onto the post, which precariously danced along the goal line before an eventual clearance.  

Arbroath put the pressure on right up until halftime, which saw Scott Stewart tear down the left wing in the 45th minute. The left back forced Rae into a diving save, but the ball fell right into the path of Dapo Mebude, who reactively headed into an open goal from close range.  

Imrie switched things up at halftime, replacing Jack Hamilton and Paul McMullan with Joshua Mullin and Richard Chin before the second half got underway.  

Raith looked a different side early on following the break, which saw some neat passes and forward moves that the first half had lacked. The Rovers’ skipper popped up to half the deficit in the 52nd minute, with Scott Brown hammering an effort into the top right from distance after driving with the ball from the halfway line.  

Arbroath made some changes just after the hour mark, but Raith’s energy persisted. A tidy, one-touch passing move in the 67th minute saw Dylan Easton put Josh Mullin clean through on goal, and the entire South Stand rose in anticipation. Mullin didn’t disappoint, coolly curling one past Stweart to level the match for The Rovers.  

Raith almost found a winner through a corner, which found the head of Jai Rowe in the 74th minute. The defender’s header looked to be goal-bound, but the effort was deflected wide by a Raith jersey in the end.  

Imrie made some more changes of his own as the clock wound down, but it would be Arbroath who would capitalise from their earlier substitutions…  

Raith’s energy had dipped somewhat as full-time approached, but the home side remained on top. However, Arbroath made something out of nothing after a seemingly innocuous forward pass put substitute and debutant Scott Robinson through on goal. Rae rushed out to meet him, but Robinson picked his spot and placed the ball into the bottom right without much hassle, putting Arbroath ahead once again with just ten minutes to go.  

Raith pushed bodies forward in search of a late leveller, but they couldn’t create a clear-cut chance before full-time. The Rovers remain in 6th place, but drift ever so slightly closer to the bottom end of the table following the defeat.  

Next up, Raith travel to Aberdeen for a televised fixture this Sunday in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup.  

Written by Hamish Rankine.  

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