Fri 5th May / 19:45 / 2022-23 / / home
Raith Rovers vs Partick Thistle
Line Up
Preview
Raith Rovers will be looking to end the season on a high on Friday evening, when they entertain promotion chasing Partick Thistle at Stark's Park.
Rovers last win came on the first day of April with a 2-0 win over Queen's Park, but since then they've lost five and drawn one of their six fixtures, and even if they can reverse that trend on Friday, they know they'll be finishing in seventh place this season.
The Jags on the other hand have been in excellent form since Kris Doolan took the managerial reins in February following the departure of Ian McCall.
In his 12 games in charge, Thistle have lost just once, against Inverness, and while they can no longer win the title, a win here coupled with a draw or defeat for Queen's Park who are in a title decider with Dundee, would see Doolan's side finish second, and get a bye through to the semi-final of the promotion playoff.
On the flip side however, if results don't go their way, they could miss out on the playoffs altogether, such is the closeness of the teams bunched from third to sixth.
The visitors have the better record from the three meetings so far this season, with two wins to Rovers one.
Scott Tiffoney and Steven Lawless had Partick two up in the first meeting at Firhill in August, and while Ethan Ross halved arrears just before the interval, Rovers were unable to find an equaliser.
It was a different story in October, when a brace from Aidan Connolly and a penalty from Kyle Connell sealed an emphatic home win for Rovers.
The roles were reversed in the most recent match up though, as Ian Murray's side were on the end of a 3-0 defeat at Firhill in March, with the goals coming through Brian Graham and two from Tiffoney.
Friday evening's match referee will be Chris Graham.
Head-to-Head Record
Raith Rovers wins: 51
Partick Thistle wins: 70
Draws: 38
Reports
Raith Rovers hosted Partick Thistle at Starks Park for the last game of the season, with Raith knowing that they would finish 7th in the league, no matter the result.
Partick started extremely fast forcing a good save from Jamie MacDonald in under a minute. Partick continued to push for a goal to take the lead with a powerful low driven shot from the edge of the box being stopped again by MacDonald.
Partick very nearly scored a goal of the season contender when they took a quick freekick from near the half way line with a direct shot, however MacDonald once again pulled off a great save.
Partick eventually got the opening goal when MacDonald made a good save that unfortunately for Raith landed at the feet of Brownlie and he smashed the ball into the back of the net in the 21st minute.
Raith begun to work their way into the game when they won a penalty after McGill flicked the ball up in the Partick box where it was handled by Docherty, therefore the referee awarded Raith a penalty,
Lewis Vaughan stepped up in the 34th minute to take the penalty which he smashed home expertly to the goal keepers left.
Raith started the second half better when William Akio played a good cross across the 6yard box to Lewis Vaughan but he couldn’t get a strong enough connection to find the back of the net.
Raith managed to take the lead in the 59th minute when Ngwenya cut the ball back to McGill on the edge of the box where his first time strike found the bottom corner to give Raith the lead.
Partick soon equalised with a tap in from 4 yards from Tiffoney in the 68th minute.
Partick nearly won the game at the end when they had a back post header fantastically saved by MacDonald to keep it level.
Photos
Highlights
Interviews
Ian Murray spoke to RaithTV after the draw at Stark's Park: