Raith Rovers 2 - 0 Dunfermline Athletic: Rovers pull clear at top

Published on Friday 20 August 2010 21:22

Raith Rovers helped former Prime Minister Gordon Brown forget about his General Election defeat as the Labour MP proudly watched his side become outright leaders of the First Division with a 2-0 victory over Fife rivals Dunfermline.

The prospect of John McGlynn's side notching their third successive win of the campaign seemed unlikely at half-time after being outplayed by the visitors. However, a vastly improved display after the break bore fruit when Iain Davidson - who had just climbed from the bench - opened the scoring in the 73rd minute.

That was after Dunfermline goalkeeper Chris Smith brilliantly saved John Baird's penalty. Raith made sure of maximum points five minutes later when Laurie Ellis bundled home a corner.

Jubilant Rovers supporters, who will be confident of seeing their team take a SPL scalp in the from of struggling Hamilton on Tuesday night in the League Cup, won't tire from glancing at the league table in the coming week, but manager John McGlynn is refusing to get carried away.

"I thought this would be a big marker if we could win this game but we are trying to make sure no-one gets too excited," said McGlynn. "Football has a habit of kicking you in the teeth and bringing you back down to earth so we will keep our feet on the ground. We can't afford to get carried away as that can lead to complacency."

With the Fife rivals locked on six points at the First Division summit prior to kick-off as the only sides with an unblemished record after the first two league fixtures, supporters crammed into the stadium for the eagerly-anticipated derby.

After a slow start, Dunfermline soon worked their way into the match and midfielder Nick Phinn registered the away side's first effort on goal in the 24th minute when he broke at pace and drove into the box before unleashing a left-footed shot that David McGurn dived to collect. Willie Gibson then launched a left-footed effort wide from the corner of the box after pouncing on Stephen Simmon's slack pass and compounding the midfielder's lapse by skipping past him to create room to shoot.

Raith were unable to stem the flow and had Willie Dyer to thank for keeping the score level after he swept Andy Kirk's back-post header off the line in the 34th minute when the Northern Irishman connected with Gibson's corner.

Raith's good fortune continued four minutes into the second half when Baird went down under a challenge from goalkeeper Smith and referee Stevie O'Reilly pointed to the spot even though there appeared to be minimal contact.With the home supporters primed to celebrate, Smith made amends by brilliantly getting down to his left to tip Baird's spot-kick onto the post.

The hosts then survived a sweeping Pars move which culminated in Phinn driving a left-footed effort off the top of the bar after being teed up by Steven McDougall inside the box.

Raith midfielder Davidson broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute. Walker's cross appeared to hit Pars defender Callum Woods on the back and Davidson stabbed the ball home from close range.

And the rampant hosts put their third straight win beyond doubt when they doubled their lead five minutes later. Walker's low corner was bundled home by Ellis at the front post.

"The two goals they scored were criminal from out point of view, they were basic errors," said Pars manager Jim McIntyre.