Raith Rovers now below Pars after first Fife derby defeat for two years

Not only did it end a five-match winning streak in that fixture dating back over a year and an unbeaten run going back one game further but it also saw their side, ninth ahead of kick-off, hit rock bottom in the William Hill Championship five matches into the new season.

To add insult to injury, it was their fellow Fifers they replaced at the foot of the table and the Pars’ first league win of the new campaign lifted them up to seventh place, with four points.

That was Dunfermline’s first victory over Raith since April 2022 and only their second in the two teams’ last 14 meetings.

They were given a helping hand on their way to defying the form-book by a red card from referee Craig Napier for visiting defender Euan Murray for a foul on home forward Chris Kane with just quarter of an hour on the clock, leaving his team-mates with a mountain to climb to take anything away from their televised outing to East End Park.

They managed to overcome that numerical disadvantage for the rest of the first half but a hefty deflection by defender Paul Hanlon put a 52nd-minute Ewan Otoo shot – one of only three on target all night for the hosts – outwith visiting goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski’s reach and a second goal from David Wotherspoon on 80 minutes put the game as a whole beyond Raith’s grasp.

Friday’s result made it two defeats in as many games for new manager Neill Collins after replacing Ian Murray a month on from his shock sacking but the South Ayrshire-born 41-year-old was happy with some of what he saw, especially the doggedness on display from his team after going down to ten men a sixth of the way into the game.

“I’m really bitterly disappointed because we never really got a chance to see our team at their best,” the ex-Barnsley boss told Raith TV afterwards.

“Going down to ten men early on is difficult no matter who you are, but when you’ve only been in ten days, it’s exceptionally tough.

“I thought the players’ attitude to that was good. They were dogged. They restricted Dunfermline really well and at half-time it was 0-0 and I felt we could actually go on and win the game.

“Once we put our foot on the ball a couple of times, we looked like we could be a threat, even with ten men.

“I was frustrated by the way their first goal came about, with a deflection.

“While there are things that we can do and the players will need to improve, right now little things are just going against us.

“I feel for the fans and I feel for the players because little things are just not quite falling for us.

“My only gripe on the night against our lads, who have had an excellent attititude, is that could they just have done a liitle bit more, individually and collectively, in possession?

“It was just one of those nights. We need to take our medicine and move on quickly.”

Next up for Raith is a visit to Stark’s Park from Hamilton Academical this coming Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.