Raith Rovers 0 - 1 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, April 24th, 2004, 3:00 PM at Starks Park, Kircaldy
Attendance: 1,748
Referee: C MacKay
Raith Rovers Inverness CT

Goalscorers
None. Paul Ritchie (2)

Team Managers
Unknown. John Robertson

Starting Eleven
Berthelot
Capin
Smart
Bornes
Dennis
Brady
Nieto
Paquito
Ferrero
Maxwell
Dow
Mark Brown
Ross Tokely
Bobby Mann
Stuart Golabek
Stuart McCaffrey
Roy McBain
Richie Hart
Liam Keogh
Paul Ritchie
Steven Hislop
Darren Mackie

Bench
Boyle
O'Reilly
Young
Martin
Gonzalez
Michael Fraser
Grant Munro
David Proctor
David Bingham
Darran Thomson

Substitutions
Boyle -> Bornes (40)
O'Reilly -> Nieto (55)
Young -> Smart (77)
David Proctor for Steven Hislop (76)
David Bingham for Paul Ritchie (87)

Bookings
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Brown (GK) 88 apps -
Stuart Golabek 163 apps3 goals
Stuart McCaffrey 144 apps5 goals
Bobby Mann 211 apps17 goals
Ross Tokely 281 apps20 goals
Roy McBain 163 apps9 goals
Liam Keogh 61 apps2 goals
Richie Hart 61 apps12 goals
Darren Mackie 8 apps -
Steven Hislop 44 apps15 goals
Paul Ritchie 127 apps62 goals
David Proctor (sub) 15 apps -
David Bingham (sub) 39 apps16 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (25 years 54 days)
Oldest Player:Darren Mackie (2005 years 267 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 54 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:David Proctor (20 years 55 days)
Oldest Player:Darren Mackie (2005 years 267 days)
Average Player Age:22 years 237 days
Domestic Players:16 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

John Robertson's 50th league game in charge ended with a vital win. With Clyde taking just a point from Dingwall the league race is again wide open.

The price of the cup performance was the absence of injured Russell Duncan for the first time this season. Mark Brown was also a doubt but in the end he played.

The Raith defence had a torrid first half and lost a goal in only the second minute. Darren Mackie ran from the halfway line and crossed from the right edge of the box. Paul Ritchie prodded home from six yards as David Berthelot tried to beat him to the ball.

The score could easily have multiplied but somehow the Raith defence held out. Berthelot blocked a Mackie first time shot in 15 minutes and ten minutes later Berthelot gratefully caught the ball as Mackie mishit. Steve Hislop shot wide on the half hour mark then Berthelot saved again from Mackie. The Berthelot/Mackie battle continued and the winger lifted it over the bar in 37 minutes as the keeper came out to challenge.

In 40 minutes the keeper gave away a free kick for holding the ball too long. Bobby Mann touched it to Richie Hart but his strike was deflected wide.

Raith rarely challenged Brown in the first half but right on the whistle an Andy Dow free kick found Ryan Maxwell via Salvador Capin but his shot flew wide.

Half Time 0-1

Raith improved after the break but the closest they came to scoring was when Roy McBain cleared off the line from a Jonathan Smart header in 75 minutes.

Berthelot saved from McBain and David Proctor to keep the score down and a Hislop 'goal' was chalked off for offside.

In injury time Berthelot raced out of his goal to tackle Mackie and immediately cleared upfield to substitute Craig O'Reilly. He shot early but it went across goal and wide.

The task is now simple; three wins and the title comes North! Raith's relegation fight is not yet over.

Match report written by tm4tj

Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Clyde 33 19 8 6 57 35 22 65
2. Inverness CT 33 19 6 8 62 31 31 63
3. St. Johnstone 33 15 11 7 56 38 18 56
4. Falkirk 33 15 8 10 43 36 7 53
5. Ross County 33 12 13 8 48 36 12 49
6. Queen of the South 33 13 8 12 42 46 -4 47
7. St. Mirren 33 7 13 13 33 44 -11 34
8. Raith Rovers 33 8 8 17 35 54 -19 32
9. Ayr United 33 5 11 17 35 57 -22 26
10. Brechin City 33 5 8 20 33 67 -34 23