Raith Rovers failed to add to their recent positive spell of results on Saturday after losing 2-1 to Queen’s Park on their first trip to The City Stadium.
Queen’s Park’s opener was cancelled out by a Rovers’ equaliser in the first half, but a decisive strike in the latter 45 minutes sealed all three points for the hosts.
Barry Robson made one change to the team that started in a 1-1 draw to Morton one week earlier for Rovers, with Joshua Mullin coming in for Paul McMullan. McMullan joined Shaun Byrne on the bench, who returned to the squad from a short injury spell.
Sean Crighton made two changes for Queen’s Park after a heavy 5-0 defeat to Partick Thistle, with Ricky Waugh and Darryl Carrick taking the places of Ross McLean and Charlie Fox. Aidan Connolly and Euan Murray also both started against their former club, after leaving The Rovers at the end of last season.
First Half
Queen’s Park got things underway at The City Stadium, with a 200-strong, sold-out away end watching on. It didn’t take too long for some action to unfold at the other end of the pitch from the away support…
In the 13th minute, a loose ball in the midfield allowed Sebastian Drozd to put Josh Folwer through to Raith’s defence. The striker looked to take on the Rovers’ back line, but a strong finish from 20 yards out into the bottom left corner negated the need for such complications.
A Rovers’ free kick just ten minutes later gave Raith a chance to level the match, which just so happened after Josh Mullin’s pinpoint cross to the back post found Darragh O’Connor. The defender beat his man before firing the ball into the roof of the net from close range in the 21st minute, marking his first goal for the club in his fourth start since joining.
Raith bombarded the Queen’s Park area with crosses for the remainder of the half, but Callum Ferrie remained relatively untested in The Spiders’ goal. The keepers’ quiet shift between the sticks wouldn’t go on for long, though.
Second Half
An early corner in the second half from Mullin was practically placed onto the head of Jordan Doherty, who headed towards goal from six yards out. Ferrie managed to tap the effort onto the bar of his goal, before reacting quickly to save Jack Hamilton’s close-range rebound.
The cross-ball efforts continued for Raith, but no success came. Queen’s Park always remained a threat on the break, and this danger would eventually ring true.
In the 78th minute, a quick move in the middle of the field put Fowler through on Raith’s goal, albeit at a difficult angle. A neat chop inside gave the striker a chance to get a shot away, and he did just that – curling the ball off the far post and into the net for his second of the match.
About every member of the Rovers squad had their arms in the air in protest late on, after a shot on Queen’s Park’s goal supposedly struck the hand of substitute Ross Mclean. Referee Calum Scott thought little of the incident however, with play continuing.
Raith couldn’t find another equaliser before the full time whistle, which consigned them to a third defeat in five matches. Such a run of form means The Rovers remain 6th in a tightly contested Scottish Championship, with six points now separating them from the relegation playoff position. A one-point gap to the top four remains though, which gives Raith the chance to bounce back towards the preferred end of the table if they pick three points against last-placed Airdrie at Starks Park this Saturday.
On the other hand, Queen’s Park rise out of the relegation play-off place to 8th, albeit by just a one-point gap. A first win in seven gives The Spiders some slight room to breathe now, with a tough challenge away to league leaders St Johnstone awaiting them this Saturday.
