Sat 26th April / 15:00 / Championship 24/25 / / home
Raith Rovers vs Greenock Morton
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Raith Rovers kept themselves in the hunt for fourth place on Saturday after drawing 1-1 against Greenock Morton in the penultimate game of the league season.
Morton opened the scoring via a penalty just before the half-hour mark, but a set-piece goal from The Rovers just ten minutes after ensured a point remained in Kirkcaldy.
Barry Robson made one change to his starting eleven after last week’s box-office result against Falkirk. Shaun Byrne replaced a suspended Scott Brown in the midfield, which left Ross Matthews to take the captain’s armband in light of the skipper’s absence.
Morton got the match underway, but it was Raith who came close early on. Lewis Stevenson’s 7th minute volley from inside the box was goal-bound, but Morton’s seventeen-year-old goalkeeper, Sam Murdoch, was on hand to palm the effort away.
Morton started making some attacking inroads and subsequently won a penalty after a collision occurred right on the border of Raith’s box in the 27th minute. Grant Gillespie stepped up to take and tucked his penalty away into the bottom right corner.
Raith almost manufactured an instant reply, but a double save by Murdoch once again stopped Raith from finding the net. The home fans wouldn’t have to wait much longer though…
After a long-range effort from Byrne was deflected out for a corner, Raith took their chance to swing a ball into the Morton area in the 37th minute. Matthews made his way to the front post and flicked the ball on across the face of goal, and Mullin was there to slot in from five yards out.
Neither side could muster up a clear-cut chance before halftime and Raith got the match back underway.
Raith attacked early on in the second half and worked the ball into Morton’s area multiple times. They still couldn’t get past Morton’s defence however, and the match remained level.
Morton grew into the second half as it progressed and almost found the net in spectacular fashion after Blues’ driving strike from twenty-five yards out rattled the crossbar.
Morton’s threats on goal didn’t stop there. After some fairly close efforts ended up just wide of the mark, the away side found the net after Davies was put through on goal. The linesman’s flag had gone up however, and the goal was disallowed for a close offside.
Dylan Easton almost snatched a late winner for Raith after a pin-point ball from Doherty landed at his feet. Raith’s top goal scorer weaved his way across the box just yards away from goal, but his effort agonisingly ended up flying past the post.
The final few seconds of the match were packed with drama after a Raith corner into the box was claimed to have struck a Morton hand. These protests were dismissed though and Morton raced up the pitch in a last-gasp counterattack. Moffat was put clean through on goal and curled a finish into the bottom right corner, but only after the whistle had gone for another offside.
The final whistle went soon after, meaning Raith’s fight for fourth place will go right to the final day.
That day will come this Friday with an away trip to eighth-placed Queen’s Park at Hampden making up Raith’s final game of the league season. Should Raith win and Partick Thistle lose, The Rovers will finish in the top four and progress to the Premiership playoffs.
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