Raith Rovers 0
Ayr United 0
League (Championship)


Raith Rovers 

0 - 0

Ayr United


League (Championship)
Friday, February 24th, 2023
Starks Park
Attendance: 1,939


Goalscorers
None. None.

Team Managers
Ian Murray Lee Bullen

Starting Eleven
1 MacDonald
4 Millen
12 Lang
5 Nolan
3 Dick
20 Brown
6 Spencer
7 Connolly
16 Stanton
23 Easton
18 Akio
Charlie Albinson
Alex Kirk
Patrick Reading
Sean McGinty
Daire OConnor
Mark McKenzie
Nick McAllister
Josh Mullin
Reece Mcalear
Ben Dempsey
Dipo Akinyemi

Bench
11 McBride
15 Ngwenya
17 Thomson
24 McGill
29 Young
30 Masson
77 Esmael Gonçalves
Aiden McAdams
Frankie Musonda
Jordan Houston
Michael Hewitt
Sam Ashford
Chris Maguire
Paul Smith

Substitutions
3 Dick for Ngwenya 80'minutes
6 Spencer for McBride 80'minutes
23 Easton for McGill 90'minutes
18 Akio for Esmael Gonçalves 63'minutes
Sam Ashford for Daire OConnor (65)
Chris Maguire for Josh Mullin (72)

Cautions
Spencer
Stanton
Reece Mcalear

Red Cards
None. None.

Match Officials

Colin Steven (Referee)



Photography by SNS Group

Match Report


Jamie MacDonald saved a penalty on his 500th club start as Raith Rovers held Ayr United to a draw in the Scottish Championship.

The goalkeeper denied Ben Dempsey after Mark McKenzie was fouled early in the second half.

Both sides had penalty claims in the first half after the ball appeared to come off the arms of Ayr's Nick McAllister and Raith's Scott Brown.

Ayr's Dipo Akinyemi headed wide late on with the goal at his mercy.

Rovers remain five points and three places behind third-placed Ayr. Morton can draw level with United if they beat Cove Rangers on Saturday.

Raith Rovers manager Ian Murray: "It looked a penalty at the time. On our one, the handball is a stonewall penalty kick - I can't think why the referee hasn't given it. It's frustrating, but it's part and parcel of football. The players worked incredibly hard and it's a good save from Jamie. We take the point and move on."

Ayr United manager Lee Bullen: "When you miss a penalty and the guilt-edged header at the end - big Dipo's kicking himself - we're disappointed. It's a clean sheet against a very consistent team, but there's lots of frustration. They had a lot of chances, but it looked like they'd been practising for the rugby this weekend."

Match report written by BBC



Squad Statistics (as at February 24th, 2023)


2022-23 All Time
Age
Charlie Albinson (GK)26 27 - 38 -
Sean McGinty29 282633
Patrick Reading23 32 - 973
Alex Kirk20 222222
Mark McKenzie22 3141038
Daire OConnor25 19 - 441
Ben Dempsey23 337407
Reece Mcalear21 4 - 4 -
Josh Mullin - 218218
Nick McAllister22 241371
Dipo Akinyemi25 33193319
Chris Maguire (sub) - 1 - 1 -
Sam Ashford (sub)27 271403






League Table (as at February 24th, 2023)


Pld W D L Pts
1. Queen's Park 25 13 5 7 44
2. Dundee 24 12 6 6 42
3. Ayr United 25 11 7 7 40
4. Morton 24 10 7 7 37
5. Partick Thistle 24 11 3 10 36
6. Raith Rovers 26 9 8 9 35
7. ICT 25 8 8 9 32
8. Cove Rangers 25 6 8 11 26
9. Hamilton Academical 25 6 6 13 24
10. Arbroath 25 4 10 11 22