Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Home advantage motivates Raith
RAITH Rovers manager Barry Smith is looking for his side t o use home advantage tonight to see off neighbours East Fife and reduce table-topping Ayr’s advantage to j ust three points.
The Kirkcaldy side showed they have no intention of giving up their Division One title challenge with a 2-1 win at Airdrie on Saturday and Smith wants his side to be ready for any slip-up from the Honest Men.
The Stark’s Park boss said: “We have been really strong at home all season so it is good to be back at Stark’s Park.
“We are unbeaten there and won 12 out of the 14 games. That is an impressive record but we want to make it even more impressive.”
“East Fife have good players.They have changed things around in terms of how they play and it was working well for them until their game at Forfar on Saturday.
“However, this is a derby game and that will give them enough motivation to get back on track.
“I am pleased that we are going into this one on the back of a ver y solid performance at Airdrie.
“Our strikers looked sharp and our defenders stood strong after they pulled it back to 2-1 at the start of the second half.
“They looked to put us under pressure but Aaron Lennox did not have too many saves to make.
“If we play like that again then we have a very good chance of picking up another three points.”