Man of match has much to celebrate

Raith Rovers midfielder Ross Matthews had plenty to celebrate on Saturday.

He scored the second goal in a 2-0 win over Morton that has given the Kirkcaldy side a fighting chance of avoiding relegation, and won man of the match.

Parents Phil and Karen were celebrating their birthdays over the weekend and marked the occasion with a match sponsorship package at Stark’s Park.

Matthews, 21, said: “It was only my second goal for the club and I couldn’t have picked a better day to score.

“My whole family was here, and you probably noticed I got man of the match. That was my dad sponsoring the match!

“There was about 20 of them there and I could hear them screaming. For quite a lot of them that was the first time seeing me play.

“I had a feeling this morning I was going to score because the gaffer told me I was playing a bit higher up the park,” he said.

“Anyone could have got man of the match– everyone was brilliant.”

Matthews was a deserving winner of the award, producing an all-action display despite only returning to training on Thursday after missing the defeats to Falkirk and Dunfermline with a calf injury.

“I’m just glad I got through the 90 minutes and got the win,” he said.

“Everybody was saying in the dressing room beforehand that we really don’t care how we play, we just need to grind out the three points.

“We’re in a pretty poor position at the moment and we just need as many wins as we can get between now and the end of the season.”

“We’ve got Hibs a week on Wednesday, and anything against them is a bonus.

“Then it’s down to the big two games (away to St Mirren and home to Ayr) to finish the season. We always knew it was going to come down to that, so we need to win them.”

Morton hit the post three times but Raith earned their luck with a fully committed performance that took the club from ninth to seventh.

Rovers’ first close shave arrived on five minutes when Ross Forbes flighted a free-kick into the box and Ricki Lamie glanced a header off the outside of the post.

The crucial opener arrived at the other end on 27 minutes when Chris Johnston’s corner held up in the wind and Craig Barr crashed through a crowd of bodies to head home from close range.

The second half was only a few minutes old when Morton struck the post again, Kudus Oyenuga hitting the upright from six yards after Jamie McDonagh sent a low ball across the box.

Raith were producing a spirited performance and they forged into a two-goal lead on the hour mark when Matthews latched on to Jason Thomson’s perfect cut-back to fire home from 10 yards.

The woodwork came to Rovers’ rescue for a third time with 15 minutes left as Ton sub John Scullion struck the inside of the post with a 25-yard free-kick.

But Raith held on to their clean sheet to claim a deserved victory.

Boss John Hughes added: “The performance was good enough to win the match, and I’m pleased for everyone connected to the club, but I’m not getting carried away.

“It’s three points but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

I’m pleased for everyone connected to the club, but I’m not getting carried away. It’s three points but there’s still a lot of work todo. JOHN HUGHES

On target: Ross Matthews.