Raith Rovers 1 - 1 Inverness CT

League - Championship
Saturday, October 23rd, 2021, 3:00 PM at Starks Park, Kirkaldy
Attendance: 1,900
Referee: Colin Steven
Raith Rovers Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Aidan Connolly (62) Sean Welsh (79)

Team Managers
John McGlynn Billy Dodds

Starting Eleven
Jamie Macdonald
Reghan Tumilty
Christophe Berra
Kyle Benedictus
Liam Dick
Ross Matthews
Dylan Tait
Brad Spencer
Aidan Connolly
Ethon Varian
Dario Zanatta
Mark Ridgers
Wallace Duffy
Kirk Broadfoot
Robbie Deas
Daniel Devine
Sean Welsh
Michael Gardyne
Scott Allardice
Roddy MacGregor
Shane Sutherland
Billy Mckay

Bench
Tom Lang
Robbie Thomson
Ethan Ross
Blaise Riley-Snow
Keiran Mitchell
Greig Young
Matej Poplatnik
Cameron Mackay
Tom Walsh
Reece McAlear
Aaron Doran
Manny Duku
Lewis Jamieson
Anthony McDonald

Substitutions
Matej Poplatnik -> Ethon Varian (21)
Tom Lang -> Kyle Benedictus (53)
Ethan Ross -> Aidan Connolly (78)
Aaron Doran for Scott Allardice (64)
Manny Duku for Shane Sutherland (73)
Lewis Jamieson for Billy Mckay (82)

Bookings
Dylan Tait (45+1) Kirk Broadfoot (2)
Scott Allardice (63)
Roddy MacGregor (88)

Red Cards
Ross Matthews (45+1) None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 169 apps -
Kirk Broadfoot 14 apps1 goal
Robbie Deas 48 apps1 goal
Daniel Devine 125 apps4 goals
Wallace Duffy 22 apps1 goal
Sean Welsh 79 apps11 goals
Michael Gardyne 11 apps4 goals
Scott Allardice 48 apps3 goals
Roddy MacGregor 72 apps4 goals
Billy Mckay 167 apps72 goals
Shane Sutherland 134 apps12 goals
Aaron Doran (sub) 303 apps50 goals
Lewis Jamieson (sub) 6 apps2 goals
Manny Duku (sub) 15 apps2 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Roddy MacGregor (19 years 311 days)
Oldest Player:Kirk Broadfoot (37 years 85 days)
Average Player Age:28 years 289 days
Domestic Players:9 (81.82 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Lewis Jamieson (19 years 225 days)
Oldest Player:Kirk Broadfoot (37 years 85 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 307 days
Domestic Players:14 (77.78 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

And it goes on...

Plenty of endeavour in the first half at Starks Park but little quality in the final third resulted in a game void of goalmouth action over the first forty-five minutes for both sides. Biggest talking point was the sending off just before the break of Ross Mathews for what looked like a rash studs up challenge. Contentious maybe, but straight red dished out. After the break more space saw more chances created but it was Raith that broke forward and scored through Aidan Connolly. Inverness struggled to get back on level terms but eventually did ten minutes from the end when Sean Welsh drilled home from the edge of the box and that ended the scoring. Raith's quest for a win over Inverness goes into a 22nd year. Killie were the only winners in the Championship and closed the gap to three points but Inverness remain top.

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Rovers were looking for their first win over Inverness in 21 years whilst Inverness were looking to start the seond phase of fixtures on a high and maintain their five point lead at the top of the table. However, Rovers are the form team in the league at the moment and this could have been our most difficult game of the season so far.

Wallace Duffy was in at right back and Michael Gardyne was fit enough to continue up front. Billy Mckay kept Manny Duku on the bench.

A first half without opportunities changed dramatically when Mathews was red carded just before the interval, but it was tepid and goalless at the break.

Half Time: 0-0

Just after the interval Mark Ridgers dived low to his right to push an effort by Tumilty round the post for a corner. It may have been going just wide but he took no chances and dealt well with the shot, and at the other end Shane Sutherland cut inside on the right and went equally close with a low curling left footer that was just wide of the far post with Macdonald at full stretch.

Rovers opened the scoring after good work down the left before Aidan Connolly smashed the ball from Dario Zanatta high into the net from 12 yards. Sloppy marking from the defence but Connolly didn't care as he fired the ball into the top corner for a super finish.

Jamie Macdonald pulled off a flying save to deny Billy Mckay as Inverness responded against the ten men and a Duku free kick forced the keeper to push the ball over the bar as the Inverness pressure mounted.

Inverness equalised when Michael Gardyne burst into the box on the left side and cut the ball back to the edge of the area where Sean Welsh drilled a low shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Dario Zanatta passed on a great opportunity to win all three points but curled his shot high over the bar and into the stand.

Macdonald scooped up a late header as we looked to nab a late winner but it was too easy for the keeper.

Full Time: 1-1

The game petered out thereafter and the points were shared.

Another disappointing show against ten men for half the game, but the point was deserved and very welcome.

Michael Gardyne was again prominent and created most of our openings with a nod to Sean Welsh for steadying himself before drilling home the equaliser.

A useful point at the end of the day with Kilmarnock the only side to earn three points, so not too much damage done by dropping two points, but nonetheless disappointing considering the player advantage after the break plus two enforced changes due to injury.

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Inverness CT 10 7 2 1 13 5 8 23
2. Kilmarnock 10 6 2 2 13 7 6 20
3. Raith Rovers 10 5 3 2 17 12 5 18
4. Partick Thistle 10 5 1 4 23 14 9 16
5. Arbroath 10 4 4 2 18 9 9 16
6. Ayr United 10 3 3 4 10 14 -4 12
7. Queen of the South 10 3 1 6 10 14 -4 10
8. Hamilton Academical 10 2 2 6 10 23 -13 8
9. Morton 10 1 4 5 7 14 -7 7
10. Dunfermline 10 0 6 4 6 15 -9 6