Honest Men come unstuck as Rovers stave off fightback
RAITH ROVERS 3
Connell (8), Stanton (35), Brown (83) AYR UNITED 2
Young (51), Murdoch (70)
A glorious late strike from Raith Rovers captain Scott Brown ended Ayr United’s six-game unbeaten run and gave the Kirkcaldy side a welcome victory in a thrilling, five-goal Starks Park encounter.
Manager Ian Murray commended his players for their calmness after surrendering a two-goal, first-half advantage before going on to win the game.
“I’ve seen it happen so many times, going in at half-time 2-0 ahead then losing the game, but when they pegged us back to 2-2 we didn’t go into panic mode.
“We reacted well and scored the winning goal at a great time. It was a great strike from Scott. It’s his first goal for the club and I’m delighted for him.
“Overall, I’m pleased for the players. They deserved to win over the course of the game.”
Having lost their last two league games, Raith were clearly anxious to regain some winning momentum and they were by far the more enterprising of the two sides during the opening stages of the game.
They set their stall out early on when Dylan Easton’s well-struck shot was saved by Ayr keeper Charlie Albinson after only two minutes.
The home side continued to exert pressure on the Ayr goal and took the lead in the eighth minute.
Aidan Connolly embarked on a lung-bursting run from inside his own half before slipping the ball through to Kyle Connell, who sent his shot beyond Albinson to record his first goal for Raith since joining the club from Kilmarnock in the summer.
Connell almost made it 2-0 shortly after, heading narrowly over from Liam Dick’s cross and, although Ayr striker Dipo Akinyemi rattled Jamie Macdonald’s crossbar with a 20-yard free-kick at the other end, Rovers increased their lead 10 minutes before the break, Dylan Easton releasing Stanton whose precise shot eluded the outrushing Albinson.
Ayr manager Lee Bullen clearly felt drastic measures were required at the interval and sent on three substitutes, a move that seemed to be justified four minutes later when half-time replacement Brad Young prodded the ball home from Akinyemi’s cross in what was his debut for the club, having recently moved to Somerset Park on loan from Aston Villa.
The league leaders then began to increase the tempo and levelled the score midway through the second half when Andy Murdoch’s stunning volley flew past the static Macdonald.
At this stage the general feeling around the ground was that the visitors looked the more likely side to take the three points.
But Raith were clearly intent on securing the victory and did so with seven minutes remaining when Brown stepped up to lash a loose ball into the net from the edge of the penalty box.
“Over the course of the 90 minutes Raith were the better team,” acknowledged Ayr boss Bullen.
“I’ve no complaints about the result. When we pulled the scores back to 2-2 we looked to have the momentum to win the game but we seemed to take a step back at this stage and allowed them to regain the lead.
“It’s disappointing that our unbeaten run has come to an end but we just need to start all over again.”