Rovers’ winless run continues as they go down to Blue Toon

PETERHEAD 2 RAITH ROVERS 0

Peterhead provided one of the shock results of the day with a comprehensive win over league leaders Raith Rovers who failed to impress for most of the game.

Raith came into this game on the back of three draws and they travelled to struggling Peterhead, a side without a win in any of their previous six matches.

A couple of early Peterhead corner kicks kept the visitors on the back foot but all they had to show for their dominance was a long-range effort from Gary Fraser on the quarter hour.

The Blue Toon continued to have most of the ball but failed to create a threat, illustrating the problem they have been having in front of goal this season which saw captain Rory McAllister dropped to the bench.

Derek Lyle hit the side netting with a shot on the turn in the 26th minute from a Scott Brown knock-down but we eventually had a goal 10 minutes before half-time.

A slip-up in the Rovers rearguard allowed Jack Leitch a sight of goal and he spun and shot into the roof of the net for a deserved opener.

Raith made two half-time substitutions, John Baird and Grant Anderson coming on for Jamie Gullan and Daniel Armstrong, and the full-timers certainly came out with a lot more desire in their play than had been shown in the first period.

McAllister was unleashed from the bench 10 minutes in for the home side, followed soon after by David Ferguson who replaced Jamie Stevenson and on the hour McAllister unleashed a thunderbolt from fully 25 yards that flew just over the crossbar.

Rovers thought they were about to score after 67 minutes when Anderson had the goal at his mercy 12 yards out but Scott Hooper put his body on the line to bravely block what was a goalbound shot.

Two minutes later, sub Jack Smith sent a shot crashing off the face of the bar soon after coming on as the visitors turned the screw.

But it was Peterhead who wrapped up the points in the 74th minute with a superb goal on the break, Gary Fraser collecting a diagonal pass from Brown before cutting in to fire low into the corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Rovers’ day went from bad to worse when Iain Davidson was shown a straight red card 10 minutes from the end for dissent.

Boss John McGlynn said: “That’s probably the poorest we have played all season.

“The goal they scored in the first half really summed up our first half. It was poor play and a gift. It was a mistake and that was disappointing.

“You don’t get goals easily enough to give them away like as cheaply as that.”