Raith Rovers 0 - 0 Ayr United: Tade hits his target but misses the net

Published on Saturday 21 November 2009 19:39

RAITH front man Gregory Tade got away with a second-half bust up when he floored Ayr's Alistair Woodburn but stayed on the pitch.

He lashed out and sent Woodburn sprawling in an incident that United boss Brian Reid later compared to MP John Prescott's battle with an egg-throwing protester.

Reid said: "The referee had a good game too, but the Tade thing was a bit like big John Prescott a few years ago!

"But the referee missed it and the linesman couldn't see it."

The match had passed a pitch inspection following a torrential downpour and cut up badly to make for a tough tackling occasion.

Ayr came close in nine minutes as Kevin James nudged a header just wide, while the best chance of the half came when Greg Cameron released Tade on the right.

Keeper Craig Samson brilliantly raced from his line to block the 15-yard effort and Cameron blazed the rebound wide of target in 27 minutes.

Samson pulled off another fine save to stop Stephen Simmons' 25-yard low drive a couple of minutes later.

However, the major incident was Tade's second-half flare-up.

He had been jostled by Woodburn, who also blocked him taking a quick free kick, and Tade lashed out with a punch that caught the Ayr player on the jaw. He collapsed to the turf, sparking outrage from the nearby Ayr United dugout.

Amazingly, Tade was merely cautioned by referee Steven McLean and moments later almost snatched a winner in 72 minutes. He let fly with a shot that appeared to be going in until Samson clawed the ball away.

Raith boss John McGlynn savoured the draw after two straight league defeats and said: "We lost five goals last week and now we have a clean sheet so I have to be happy with that."