Raith Rovers 2-1 Hamilton Accies: Casalinuovo helps Raith out of basement

A ROUSING comeback gave Raith Rovers a pivotal triumph over Hamilton in the battle for First Division survival.

Rovers’ Damian Casalinuovo levelled the scores ten minutes after the break, netting his third goal in four appearances to cancel out a header by Mark McLaughlin.

Six minutes later the impressive Argentine produced a perfect knock-down in the box to allow Allan Walker to swivel and fire low into the corner of the net. A draw for Queen of the South and defeat for Ayr ensured Raith rose out of the bottom two, a feat which appeared utterly improbable as the home side skulked from the field to a chorus of jeers at the interval.

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“It was night and day after the first half,” said Rovers John McGlynn after a turgid opening period.

“I said to the players – and I hoped – that things could only get better. We knew we had underachieved, and I couldn’t be happier with the reaction.”

McLaughlin’s eighth goal of a remarkably prolific campaign for the veteran defender looked to have the visitors on course for the win. Accies boss Billy Reid rued: “I said to the players, ‘don’t do anything stupid and we will win this’ but we were stupid.”