Raith Rovers FC | Official Web Site
Raith Rovers FC | Official Web Site
ACA Sports - RRFC Official Online Shop
Earn Money With Raith Rovers!!.....AGENTS REQUIRED to Sell Roary's Super Lotto Tickets.....Excellent Rates of Commission Available.....Contact 01592 263514 For Details.....Play Roary's Super Lotto.....Win Up To £25,000.....Draw takes place every Wednesday....
HG Puma Genesis Anim 08Online Shopping AnimPenman Kdy 280 40Soccer Savings Logo 140Fife SEAT 150
RSS Feed

 Official Precision Training Equipment Supplier

Precision Training
Equipment

Coolforce Anim 07

Fan Tiles 120

MBNA Logo120

HG SRtRC

KoB Logo

118831

Peterhead 2-1 Raith Rovers
27 Dec 2008: Irn Bru Scottish Second Division
Mugged!
Rovers' 9 game unbeaten run was ended by Peterhead at Balmoor this afternoon but the Rovers' management team must have been scratching their heads wondering how that happened after the team put in their best performance for several weeks and dominated large tracts of the match.

On another day this match would have resulted in a comfortable away victory, such was Rovers’ overall dominance, but in retrospect the reasons for the defeat were twofold – a failure to convert a decent numbers of chances over the course of the game and the concession of two goals in lightning breakaways by the home side.

Looking at the home side’s goals first, Rovers were hurt by the two runners in the lead-up to the two goals. First it was Bavidge who surged forward in space down the right after a decent early cross from Laurie Ellis was cleared in behind the full-back. Allan Walker might have chased Bavidge down but opted instead to track back towards goal leaving Todd Lumsden with the unenviable choice of either going to the man with the ball or staying to mark the two supporting attackers. Inevitably he finally had to choose the former allowing Bavidge to square the ball into Bagshaw. Briefly it looked as though Rovers might get a reprieve when the midfielder failed to connect properly right in front of goal but the ball ran kindly for the home side straight to Ross who squeezed the ball past David McGurn from close range.

MP v Peterhead_271208_PFC_Goal_1
GOAL: Ross slips the ball past McGurn to give the Blue Toon the lead

Goal number two came down the other flank. This time it was Sharp who did the damage after getting away from Walker on halfway. Although Robert Sloan tried desperately to get back and make a tackle he was fractionally too late as the Blue Toon winger squared to give Ross an easy tap-in from inside the six yard box.

MP v Peterhead_271208_PFC_Goal_2
GOAL: Ross (grounded) gets in at the back post to score

Despite these setbacks, Rovers never gave up and with 10 minutes left got the goal they deserved when Sloan picked out Mark Ferry in the box. The midfielder’s shot on the turn was blocked, but not held, by Kula and Gary Wales was following up to force the ball home from close range.

MP v Peterhead_271208_RR_Goal
GOAL: Kula’s save falls for Wales to slip the ball home

But although that goal set up a grandstand finish it wasn’t enough and Roves can only rue the missed chances which littered the match and ultimately cost Rovers at least a point. Simply put, despite having conceded twice against the run of play, over the piece John McGlynn’s men still created sufficient opportunities to win the match.

Man of the match Wales could, on another day, have had a first half hat-trick. First he controlled Sloan’s intelligent low ball into the box on the turn but couldn’t get sufficient purchase on the shot to trouble Kula. He then tested the keeper from 30 yards before passing up perhaps his best chance, taking the ball past Donald and forcing the keeper to make a good stop low to his right.

MP v Peterhead_271208_Sloan_Shot
Robert Sloan tries a long range effort

Strike partner Kevin Smith enjoyed less luck in front of goal from the moment he sliced Rovers’ first chance of the match wide of target after good lead-up play involving Lumsden, Graham Weir and Wales.

MP v Peterhead_271208_Smith Chance
A great chance for Smith but he sliced it wide

The normally deadly striker headed over from a decent position after a short corner involving Ellis and Sloan whilst his predatory instincts deserted him again just before half-time when Weir failed to connect with an overhead effort from an Allan Walker knock-down but Smith couldn’t force the ball home from the edge of the 6 yard box.

Both full-backs offered a goal threat as well with Laurie Ellis particularly unlucky with a good header from Sloan’s second half corner which forced Kula into another good save although in truth from around 15 yards, the keeper probably had sufficient time to get a good look at the oncoming ball.

Down the other flank Craig Wilson is still searching for that elusive second goal for the club and wasted a good early chance to book a trip to the barber’s after Walker failed to connect with Wales’s dangerous cross from the left. The ball seemed to fall almost perfectly for the full-back but instead of using the space to take a touch before finishing he hit the ball first time over the bar. He showed a similar lack of composure early in the second half neatly cutting inside Sharp onto his left foot but somehow he managed to sky his effort from just inside the box.

Add in some decent efforts from outside the box from Ferry, Sloan and Ellis and it’s difficult to work out how even a point eluded Rovers.

Other than the missed chances the only other incidents worthy of mention were two refereeing decisions both of which had opposing fans mystified. The first came in the first half when Peterhead’s Smith retrieved Sharp’s deep corner and attempted to return the ball into the danger area. He failed to do so because his cross was blocked by Kevin Smith’s arms – above his head – yet referee Conroy awarded a corner rather than the penalty that 800+ fans on both sides were expecting.

The second controversial incident came in stoppage time when sub Gareth Wardlaw knocked the ball past McDonald into the penalty area only to have his progress halted by what appeared, to most, to be a body check on the edge of the box. Referee Conroy however judged that Wardlaw had in fact run into McDonald rather than the other way round.

It has to be said again that the result in no way reflected the level of performance put in by Rovers. The match stats (17 goal attempts against the Blue Toon’s 4) much more accurately reflect the run of play than the final scoreline whilst the likes of Iain Davidson, Todd Lumsden and Gary Wales, in particular, can look back on impressive individual displays.

But the harsh fact is that it is goals that count and a chance to open up a 7 point lead at the top of the table went abegging.


Pictures © Jim Foy.

written by Mike Melville