Raith Rovers 2-0 Ayr United: Two wins on the spin in Championship for Collins’ side

Neill Collins’ side secured a welcome 1-0 victory over Airdrieonians on Tuesday evening, and they followed that up with another three points in front of BBC Scotland cameras thanks to a Lewis Jamieson brace.

The St Mirren striker, on loan for the season, opened his Raith account on 19 minutes when he followed in to slam home from close range following Dylan Easton’s initial effort.

A superb team goal two minutes before the break put the game beyond the Somerset Park outfit, with Jamieson latching onto Lewis Stevenson’s stunning cross after neat build-up play.

Manager Collins might not have been best pleased about the prospect of playing three matches in six days but he was happy enough to have taken six points from them, thanks to the first back-to-back victories of his two months in charge in Fife, making amends for a 3-2 SPFL Trust Trophy defeat away to Ayr in his first game in charge at the start of September.

“I’m very pleased,” the 41-year-old told BBC Scotland. “I’ve honestly been a broken record recently because the performances have been genuinely been really good but when you don’t back that up with results then questions will always be asked.

“We learned lessons from when we played Ayr in my first game. We were two goals up at half-time in that one and lost 3-2 eventually.

“In the second half today, the players showed that they had learned from that experience. The win in midweek wasn’t our best performance but it took the pressure off.

“We played freely tonight. Back-to-back wins were important. When you win one, you want to get the next and it is so important in British football.

“I’ve loved the honesty of the players and I love coming into work everyday. They are willing to work hard and learn. They want to get better.”

Raith now sit sixth in the table after two successive wins.

They next travel to Kris Doolan’s Partick Thistle next Saturday afternoon.

Teams

Raith Rovers: Kevin Dabrowski, Callum Fordyce, Paul Hanlon, Liam Dick, Lewis Stevenson, Scott Brown, Fankaty Dabo, Sam Stanton, Dylan Easton, Callum Smith, Lewis Jamieson. Subs: Andrew McNeil, Lewis Gibson, Kai Montagu, Korede Adedoyin alias David, Ross Matthews, Euan Murray, Shaun Byrne, Finlay Pollock, Jack Hamilton.

Ayr United: Liam Russell, Dylan Watret, George Stanger, Scott McMann, Patrick Reading, Connor McLennan, Ben Dempsey, Roy Syla, Mark McKenzie, Alfie Bavidge, George Oakley. Subs: Harry Stone, Ryan Howley, Jake Hastie, Nicholas McAllister, Marco Rus, Ethan Walker, Jay Henderson, Jamie Murphy, Frankie Musonda.

Referee: Lloyd Wilson.

Attendance: 3,427