Raith Rovers hoping to resume winning streak against Greenock Morton

The Ton visit Stark’s Park in Kirkcaldy on Saturday, August 13, for both sides’ third game of the 2022/23 Scottish Championship season and that was also the venue for their last encounter, a 1-0 win for the visitors in April of this year, thanks to a 65th-minute goal scored by ex-Heart of Midlothian forward Robbie Muirhead.

That’s one of only three wins in their last ten games for the Inverclyde side, the others both being back in the winter of 2017. They were a 1-0 victory in Fife that February, courtesy of a 53rd-minute Lee Kilday goal, and a 2-0 home win the month before, Ross Forbes and Lawrence Shankland netting on that occasion.

Rovers have won six of the teams’ last ten games, all of them in the championship, with one drawn 2-2. That draw was at the Ton’s Cappielow Park home ground in January this year, with Jamie Gullan and Reghan Tumilty scoring for the visitors and Gozie Ugwu and Muirhead for their hosts.

Raith’s last win against the Ton was by 2-1 at home in November last year, with Aidan Connolly and Ethan Ross netting for the Fifers after Michael Ledger put their visitors, left a man short by Alan Lithgow’s 72nd-minute sending-off, ahead five minutes in.

That was their sixth victory against them in a row, their preceding game last season having been a 1-0 success on the road last September, Dario Zanatta supplying the winner on 33 minutes.

The preceding season saw Rovers beat Morton 1-0 at home in March 2021 and by the same score away the month before, Gullan scoring in the former and Iain Davidson in the latter, and 5-0 on home turf in November 2020, with Daniel Armstrong, Frankie Musonda, Ross Matthews twice and Fernandy Mendy all getting on the scoresheet and Jim McAlister seeing red for the visitors on 37 minutes.

The 2016/17 season, prior to current Falkirk manager John McGlynn’s return in September 2018, was a less happy one for Raith, however, as they lost three of their four games against the Ton, their only win being by 2-0 at home, thanks to Craig Barr and Ross Matthews goals, in April 2017.

Prior to that, they lost 1-0 at home in February of that year, 2-0 away the month before and 1-0 away in October 2016. Morton’s scorers in those matches were Kilday; Forbes and Shankland; and Forbes respectively.

This Saturday’s game against manager Dougie Imrie’s side kicks off at 3pm.