Honours even for Raith Rovers and Arbroath over last dozen games

Raith Rovers winger Aidan Connolly vying for possession with Arbroath's James Craigen during their sides' last game, a 3-3 draw at Gayfield Park in March (Photo by Craig Brown/SNS Group)

There’s only been more than two goals in it once in the last 35 years’ worth of competitive meetings between the two sides.

That was a 3-0 victory for the Fifers at Kirkcaldy’s Stark’s Park in October 2020, with Dan Armstrong, Reghan Tumilty and Regan Hendry netting for the hosts and Thomas O’Brien seeing red for the visitors.

Prior to that, the last time Rovers and the Red Lichties were separated by more than a couple of goals was another 3-0 home win for the former in January 1987.

2020’s 3-0 win was one of three victories for Raith in the sides’ last dozen meetings, all in the Scottish Championship or the old Scottish Division 1 that preceded it, with Arbroath claiming all three points on the same number of occasions and the other six games being drawn.

Rovers’ other wins were by 2-1 at home in October 2021 and 2-0 away in December 2018.

The former match saw Dylan Tait and Ross Matthews netting for the hosts, with Anton Dowds replying, and the latter yielded goals for Armstrong and Liam Buchanan, with Arbroath’s Gavin Swankie being red-carded just before half-time.

The Angus outfit’s wins were by 2-1 in January this year and 1-0 in February 2019 in Fife and 1-0 at their Gayfield Park home ground in February 2021.

Their scorers in this year’s victory were Jack Hamilton and Nicky Low, with Tumilty replying; last year it was Kris Doolan; and in 2019 it was Colin Hamilton.

The sides’ last game ended tied at 3-3 at Gayfield, with Matej Poplatnik, Aidan Connolly and Ethon Varian scoring for the visitors and Hamilton, Dale Hilson and Michael McKenna for their hosts.

That was one of two draws last season, the other, last December, being goalless.

Their only draw the season before saw them sharing four goals in Kirkcaldy in April 2021, Armstrong getting both of Raith’s, with Hamilton and Ricky Little replying.

Honours were even twice in the 2018/19 season, with the teams picking up a point apiece in Arbroath in April 2019 and Fife in October 2018.

The former, a 2-2 draw, saw Kevin Nisbet score both Raith’s goals, with Swankie and Ryan Wallace on the scoresheet for their hosts. The latter, a 1-1 draw, saw goals for the hosts’ Nisbet and Arbroath’s Bobby Linn.

Two of the sides’ four games in the 2017/18 season were also draws, by 1-1 in Arbroath in April 2018 and 2-2 at Stark’s Park in February of that year.

Raith manager Ian Murray’s side go into this weekend’s game eighth in Scottish football’s second tier with six points from as many games. His opposite number Dick Campbell’s part-timers are bottom of the table with two pointsand yet to pick up their first win of the new season after six games.