The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pars thrash Rovers in derby to close gap on Hearts
Dunfermline thrashed Fife rivals Raith Rovers to return to second place in the Championship last night.
The impressive victory over a Rovers side, who had beaten Dundee last Saturday, sees the East End Park side now nine points behind runaway leaders Hearts.
Pars boss Stevie Crawford was in buoyant mood afterwards, particularly as the Pars had been beaten by Robbie Neilson’s men at the weekend.
“It was a good positive performance tonight” said Crawford.
“We were on the front foot from the off and caused them a lot of bother in the first half.
“We took the lead through an excellent goal from Declan McManus just before half-time and as a result took a belief with us into the second half. Although we scored four goals tonight, we could easily have scored more.
“It was really encouraging.
“It’s been a difficult period for both the players and the supporters but that was a great result to take into our next game at Arbroath this weekend.
“We played well against Hearts on Saturday and I was disappointed not to take anything from that game.
“We changed things around tonight but I didn’t see any of the players sulking and we’ve come away with a really positive performance and result.”
The wind which swirled around the ground, allied to the wet conditions, made things difficult for both sets of players in the early stages but it was the home side who gradually began to take control of proceedings as the first half progressed.
The first chance of the game fell to frontman McManus, who fired over in 17 minutes after good build up play by strike partner Ryan Dow.
Fraser Murray was looking effective in dead ball situations for Dunfermline and, after the Raith defence had failed to clear his well-placed freekick midway through the first half, Paul Watson shot narrowly over from 20 yards out.
McManus and Murray both came close as the Pars pushed for a breakthrough while at the other end Timmy Abraham, who joined Rovers last week on loan from Fulham, was being ably shackled by home skipper Euan Murray.
Abraham did escape Murray’s attentions on one occasion in an attempt to break Dunfermline’s domination but his tame effort was easily saved by Pars keeper Owain Fon Williams.
A half-time stalemate looked certain until the final minute of the first period when Iain Wilson cut the Rovers defence apart with a superb through ball which was collected by McManus, who steered his shot beyond Rovers keeper Jamie Macdonald.
Dunfermline’s attacking momentum continued after the break and they increased their lead early in the second half with a low, angled strike from Aaron Comrie.
Rovers pulled one back in 64 minutes with a spectacular long-range effort from Brad Spencer but their fightback proved to be short-lived as Fraser Murray curled home a 25yard free-kick at the other end two minutes later
The same player made it 4-1 in the closing stages as he fired home his second goal of the evening.
● Raith Rovers midfielder Ross Matthews, 25, has signed a new deal keeping him at Stark’s Park until 2024.