Raith remain on track after late strike earns win

Kevin Cuthbert hailed a massive three points for Raith after they saw off their kingdom rivals.

Raith were pegged back twice by their stubborn hosts before settling matters late on.

It was enough to make sure the Kirkcaldy side kept pace with league leaders Ayr United.

Cuthbert said: “Credit to the players for keeping on going right to the end.

“It’s a great three points for us.

“The first goal was a highlight of the hard work we put in during the week.

“But the most important thing was that we won the game.

“We came here to a difficult venue because it’s a derby so are delighted to get the three points.”

Raith raced into an early lead when Greig Spence picked out Scott Robertson and the midfielder burst clear on Ryan Goodfellow’s goal.

Goodfellow blocked his shot but the ball spun up agonisingly for the home side and sailed into the back of the net.

The hosts soon hauled themselves level. Raith were too slow in closing down Scott Linton and he punished them by clipping in a superb cross which was nodded home by Kyle Wilkie.

But parity didn’t last long with Liam Buchanan finishing off a Lewis Vaughan corner to send Raith into the lead again.

East Fife certainly impressed with their fighting spirit and that desire got them level again.

Chris Duggan was fouled on the edge of the Raith box, winning a free-kick.

Up stepped Linton and he curled a sublime effort into the top corner.

The game was firmly in the balance with both sides going in pursuit of the winner.

And it was Raith who eventually grabbed the crucial fifth goal when Dario Zanatta finished from six yards.

Home boss Darren Young was disappointed not to take anything from the game.

“The fans appreciated the way we played but we’re still losing bad goals,” he said.

“It’s cost us again. “From start to finish we did very well and competed and were on top for large stages.

“Everybody is absolutely gutted.”

Attendance: 1,795. East Fife: Goodfellow, Dunsmore, Docherty (Mutch 84), Kane, Page, Lamont (Flanagan 88), Duggan, Wilkie, G Hurst (Smith 46), Millar, Linton. Substitutes – M Hurst, Reilly, Slattery. Booked – Linton, Kane.

Raith Rovers: Smith, Thomson, Murray, Spence, Robertson, Buchanan (Court 72), Vaughan, Matthews, Davidson, McKay, Zanatta. Substitutes – Lennox, Opoku-Bershie, Hendry, Watson, Berry, Bell. Booked – Vaughan, Zanatta. Referee: Gavin Ross.

Picture: SNS. Kevin Cuthbert was impressed by his teammates’ resolve against East Fife.