Bottom-of-table Arbroath rain on Raith Rovers’ title race parade with second-half comeback for 3-2 win

With 56% of the possession, nine corners to their hosts’ one and 17 shots to the Red Lichties’ nine, the Fifers looked to be in control for much of the game but let it slip away from them as time went on, failing to summon up another of the trademark late goals that have earned them a fair proportion of their 15 wins to date this season.

All seemed to be going to plan for manager Ian Murray’s visitors in Angus as a well-placed shot from Dundee loan striker Zak Rudden past home goalkeeper Derek Gaston saw them go ahead, following a Kyle Turner assist, on 26 minutes, and a close-range header from Josh Mullin four minutes after half-time appeared to have put the game beyond the reach of bottom-of-the-table Arbroath.

Substitute striker Jay Bird’s arrival as a 57th-minute replacement for Kyle Robinson sparked what had looked to be an unlikely comeback, however, as he beat Raith’s defence and goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski with a sharp turn and pinpoint shot just four minutes later, from a Charlie Reilly assist.

A moment of indecisiveness from Dabrowski allowed Leighton McIntosh to head home an equaliser from a Mark Stowe ball into the box eight minutes later.

Things went from bad to worse for Raith a further eight minutes later as a close-range Stowe shot earned Arbroath their sixth win of the campaign.

That defeat, their sixth of the season, from 26 fixtures, left Raith level with table-toppers Dundee United on 51 points ahead of their trip to third-placed Partick Thistle today, March 2.

Murray was disappointed to see his side throw away a two-goal lead, telling Raith TV afterwards: “For 60 to 65 minutes, we were in full control of the game.

“We were looking really dangerous, with loads of energy, looking like we were going to add to our two goals, and we’d got our second goal at a wonderful time as well.

“It wasn’t as if Arbroath changed anything. They didn’t bombard us with long balls or crosses into the box.

“Moments in the game cost us the three points, it’s as simple as that, and the goals we let in were really, really poor.

“It was nothing that we didn’t know Arbroath would do or can do. It was just individual mistakes and collective mistakes ultimately leaving us going down the road with no points.”

Asssessing Arbroath’s goals, the 42-year-old added: “For the first goal, the guy hit a wonderful shot and that can happen, but you have to remain calm and composed when these things happen, but after that we didn’t.

“Their second goal was just a calamity from start to end. We made a mess of it at the back, it’s as simple as that.For their third goal, we just didn’t clear the ball. We had five or six chances to clear.

“It was just really poor collective defending that cost us three goals in half an hour.”

Raith’s next match is a Fife derby at home to Dunfermline Athletic in Kirkcaldy next Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.