Report

Raith Rovers continued their push for fourth place after defeating Hamilton Accies 2-0 at Starks Park on Saturday.  

Barry Robson stuck with the line-up that overcame Partick Thistle 3-0 the week prior, and Shaun Byrne was the only addition to the bench after returning from a seven week injury spell.  

Accies’ manager, John Rankin, made three changes after losing away to Ayr previously with Barjonas, Bradley, and Gallacher replacing Todorov, McGowan, and Hendrie.  

Hamilton kicked off proceedings on an unusually mild and sunny February afternoon, but it was The Rovers who came close to scoring after just three minutes. Gullan raced through on goal from a threaded pass from Easton, but Lyness did well to prevent conceding early on as he denied the striker’s attempt from an angle.  

Barring the early scare, Hamilton went on to enjoy a settled start to the match as Raith struggled to create any more chances in the opening twenty minutes. The Rovers’ defence went un-troubled though, and a few opportunities came along soon enough.  

Gullan came close again after carving out a chance from a tight angle, but Lyness was there again to deny his near-post effort.  

A breakthrough came for The Rovers in the thirty-first minute, after some good football down the left allowed Pollock to play Easton into the Accies’ Box. A sliding challenge from the Hamilton defence brought Easton down before he could control the ball, and the referee pointed to the spot without hesitation. Penalty Rovers.  

Easton was the man to place the ball on the spot. Having already scored six penalties this season, the midfielder emphatically increased that tally to seven after blasting his spot kick into the top left corner of the Accies’ goal. After a scrappy opening, Raith had got themselves ahead.  

Hamilton tried to manufacture a swift response, and hoisted the ball into Raith’s area from a set-piece just two minutes later. A coming together led to the referee blowing his whistle, and Hamilton’s chance went as quickly as it came after being penalised for a high foot.  

The remainder of the first half petered out, and the teams re-emerged unchanged for the second half.  

Raith looked comfortable as they passed the ball around, but no real chances arose for a good period of the half. The Rovers went on to play some fast and fluid football though, and their reward arrived soon enough.  

Raith won the ball in the midfield through Brown in the 64th minute, and The Rovers’ captain pinged a pinpoint diagonal ball to the left wing. Stevenson went on to whip a ball on top of the six-yard line, and Pollock was there to head home for his fourth goal in as many starts.  

Both sides went on to make some changes in the aftermath of Raith’s second, but The Rovers’ goal continued to go un-threatened. A few more half chances popped up for Raith, but a third goal never came. 

Shaun Byrne replaced Scott Brown in the 83rd minute – marking the return from an injury sustained back on the 4th of January in Robson’s first game in charge.  

The final whistle went soon after, which signified a first back-to-back set of wins for Robson since his appointment.  

A result for The Rovers puts them up to fifth in the league and just four points off of fourth placed Partick with two games in hand. Two matches in five days await, with a trip to Airdrie this Tuesday and a home match against Queens Park this Saturday creating a busy, yet hopefully fruitful, week ahead for Raith.  

Attendance – 3384  

Written by Hamish Rankine.  

Photos