The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Rovers put Gers’ title party on ice
Striker pounces in injury time to earn Raith a point
Raith spoiled the Rangers title party on Saturday as they stayed on course for a chance at stepping up themselves.
The Gers looked on course to clinch the Ladbrokes Championship crown as they took a 3-2 lead into the final moments in Fife.
But on-loan Leicester striker Harry Panayiotou left the champions-elect frustrated when he bundled home with virtually the last kick of the game.
His dramatic leveller came just seconds after Wes Foderingham looked to have rescued the Glasgow side’s win when he saved Panayiotou’s penalty.
Rovers had taken the lead through Louis Longridge but goals from Harry Forrester and Michael O’Halloran put MarkWarburton’s team back in charge.
James Craigen’s volley just before half-time levelled the match again but Kenny Miller put Gers on course for the title when he struck four-minutes after the break.
However, the late drama as the clock ticked past 90 left the 5,000 travelling Light Blues supporters deflated.
The 3-3 draw means the Ibrox side must wait until tomorrow for another chance to seal promotion back to the top-flight when they face Dumbarton at home.
For Rovers, the result was also vital and means they are now just one point away from clinching a promotion playoff spot.
The draw also boosted Raith boss Ray McKinnon’s hopes of a step up to the top flight.
He said: “If we get into the play-offs, I don’t think anyone will fancy coming here and playing us. We’re a decent side.
“We’ll give it everything we’ve got if we get there.”
For Foderingham the Light Blues’ recent wobbles are cause for concern.
The Ibrox men have been determined to finish off their title push in style. But instead, they have stumbled towards the line after conceding nine goals in the space of just three games.
He said: “Losing nine goals in three games is a little bit of a concern. But prior to that we hadn’t conceded many.
“Defensively we were disappointing today and we must do better.
“I should have done better for their second goal today. It took a big deflection but I got a big enough hand on it to push it away.”
But Foderingham believes his side will bounce back from their Stark’s Park slipup and finally end the Ibrox outfit’s fouryear nightmare by beating the Sons in front of a packed-out home support.
“It was a roller-coaster of emotions for us on Saturday,” he said.
“It wasn’t a great start to the game for us but we got ourselves back in it.
“We got into a winning position and to throw it away at the end is really disappointing.
“If I’m honest, I thought I’d won it for us with the penalty save. But you can’t switch off until the final whistle is blown and Raith caused us problems all day with balls into the box.
“We didn’t deal with the one from which they scored at the end.”