Captain Davidson secures the points for Raith Rovers at Morton

Iain Davidson opens the scoring against Morton at Cappielow (Pic: Dave Johnston)

A first half header from Raith Rovers captain Iain Davidson gave Raith Rovers an away win against Morton.

It was a much needed boost for the Kirkcaldy side after the 4-1 midweek defeat against Dunfermline.

But with their Fife rivals losing 2-0 at Arbroath, Rovers took some revenge by leapfrogging them into second place in the Championship table.

Manager McGlynn rang the changes after the dismal derby doing with Dylan Tait, Kai Kennedy, Lewis Vaughan and Timmy Abraham dropping out of the starting XI, with Fernandy Mendy, Regan Hendry, Gozie Ugwu and Jamie Gullan coming in.

It was a rare sight to see Rovers start with two forwards but it was an even rarer one that won the match early one that won the match – a goal from Davo.

Dan Armstrong sent in a free kick and the defender headed in what would prove to be the winner after just 11 minutes.

It was a match of few chances for either team, though Rovers set out to attack, playing two up front in Ugwu and Gullan, but neither keeper was overworked across the 90 minutes.

Despite his lack of activity, Rovers goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald had to subbed midway through the first half after pulling a hamstring to be replaced by Robbie Thomson.

Gullan headed a Tumilty cross wide after 26 and Rovers; next chance came in first half stoppage time when Ugwu was inches away from connecting with a cross from Kieran MacDonald.

Another attempt from Gullan on 58 minutes was well saved by Morton keeper McAdams before he went off at the same time as Ugwu, with Kai Kennedy and Timmy Abraham replacing them.

Kennedy looked lively and forced two saves from McAdam in the space of four minutes as Raith looked for the second goal that would kill off the game.

With just seven minutes to go Rovers went close when Regan Hendry slipped the ball through to Abraham. He looked to have his foot clipped as he tried to shoot and his effort went wide, referee Chris Graham waving aside penalty claims.

Tumilty, Abraham and Kennedy were all booked in close succession near the end of the match as they battled to avoid a late equaliser.

In the end, their collective ‘taking one for the team’ approach worked and Rovers held on for a deserved win on the road, with a clean sheet into the bargain.