Raith facing a fight for survival despite victory
Raith Rovers relegated Ayr United to League 1 thanks to a 2-1 Stark’s Park success, with the Kirkcaldy men beginning their fight to avoid playing the Honest Men next season when they play Brechin City on Wednesday in a play-off semi-final.
The outcome could have been the other way around but the Raith players showed the mettle that manager John Hughes had been demanding in a roller-coaster of a game.
Ayr travelled to Fife looking for a five-goal win to avoid automatic relegation and their hopes got a massive boost after just 60 seconds when Raith goalkeeper Pavel Penska was red-carded for flattening Craig Moore 25 yards from goal.
But they failed to take advantage and generated no momentum for the goal-fest that they required. Jonny Court fired the ten men in front eight minutes from the interval and, at this stage, the hosts were safe from all trouble, but Rory Loy’s goal at Easter Road changed that and put Raith back down to ninth.
Ayr goalkeeper Greg Fleming was stretchered off before Ross Docherty’s 25-yard drive past substitute Connor Brennan with 20 minutes left drew the visitors level.
Alan Forrest had the chance to rub salt into home wounds when Ayr were awarded a penalty but Brennan dived to his left to keep the ball out and an injury-time goal from Declan Mcmanus ensured that the home fans at least saw a win.
Hughes said: “To play with ten men for almost the entire 90 minutes and win tells me everything about the reaction I got from the players. However, we still have the play-offs to face and we need to embrace them.
“We can not be scared as they are an opportunity to achieve safety after a difficult season.”
Ayr manager Ian Mccall said: “It was unlikely that we would hit the target set and the amount of interruptions to the game affected us especially against a side who had plenty to play for. I have never been relegated before and it is not nice.”
Falkirk ensured that they would clinch second spot with a 1-0 win over a Dumbarton side that finished seven goals better off than Hughes’ men. Sons’ striker Robert Thomson hit the bar in the first half with a header but Nathan Austin grabbed all three points when he nodded in a Luke Leahy cross five minutes from time.
Morton and Dundee United drew 1-1 in what will be the first of three games between the sides in six days as they both push for promotion.
Kudus Oyenuga headed the Greenock men into the lead seven minutes into the second half, with Blair Spittal equalising on 63 minutes. Dunfermline ended their first season back in the Championship with a 1-0 success over Queen of South at Palmerston. The winninggoalcameinbizarre fashion in injury time when a clearance from Pars goalkeeper Sean Murdoch came off Nicky Clark and home defender Chris Higgins and trickled past goalkeeper Lee Robinson who had slipped.