Report

Raith Rovers won their final match of the League Cup group stage on Tuesday after defeating Peterhead 1-0 at Stark’s Park.

Dougie Imrie made four changes to his starting lineup after the side’s 1-1 draw away to Hamilton four days prior. Lewis Stevenson and Arron Lyall were rotated in after appearing on the bench against Hamilton, whilst Luke Armstrong made his debut between the sticks after signing on loan from Cardiff City in pre-season. Anton Dowds made up the final change, starting from the off after his signing was announced in the hours leading up to kick-off. Telfer, Turner, Rowe and Rae all made way, taking places on the bench.

Raith got the match going, which saw Dowds waste no time in getting his first shot on goal for the club in just the 3rd minute of his debut. The striker couldn’t quite find the net though, with Newman in the Peterhead goal safely gathering.

Peterhead started to liven up, and got a few shots, albeit wayward, towards goal. Still, Raith’s defence would continue to be tested as they were forced to defend a handful of set-pieces.

Raith would eventually get themselves ahead as halftime approached, following a throw-in on the right around 12 yards from the by-line. Robertson was the receiver, and did well to turn back outside before dinking a ball into the box. Dylan Easton got on the end, calmly directing the ball past Newman with a deft, first-time finish from eight yards – putting Raith ahead around seven minutes from the interval.

Peterhead would remain a handful in the few minutes that followed, forcing a couple of good saves from Armstrong following a quick break and a subsequent corner.

Jai Rowe replaced Stevenson for the Rovers during the break, before the second half got underway.

Peterhead continued to get shots away following some more set-pieces after the break, but Armstrong wasn’t called into action, with each effort clearing the bar.

Dowds continued to cause some bother for Peterhead’s back line as the match went on, and came close to doubling Raith’s lead in the 61st minute after getting on the end of Zak Delaney’s ball into the box. The resultant header was a touch high in the end though, narrowly clearing the bar.

Raith used all four remaining substitutions as the match went on, which included the introduction of Turner, amongst others. The midfielder’s shift didn’t last long unfortunately, after McMullan came on as his replacement just 15 minutes later following an apparent injury.

Peterhead had a late chance to net a leveller after a free kick from wide was put into the box in the 90th minute. Danny Strachan got his head to it from six yards out, but a crowded Rovers’ area meant the defender couldn’t get a clean connection with the ball, which went safely out for a goal-kick in the end.

The match was brought to a close around four minutes later, awarding Raith with their second win in the League Cup group stage. Although undefeated in 90 minutes across four matches, the loss of two bonus points via penalties puts any chance of progression from the group out of the Rovers’ hands – a situation which will be clarified this Saturday.

Next up: the Rovers have got a friendly against Heart of Midlothian at Starks Park pencilled in for this Friday night, before the league season gets underway against Stenhousemuir at home on the 1st of August.

Written by Hamish Rankine.

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