Raith Rovers are into the fifth round of the Scottish Cup after a 2-0 win away to Linlithgow Rose at Prestonfield Stadium.
Jamie Gullan scored both goals in a match Raith dominated once they eventually got going.
Some bizarre refereeing just after half-time saw the same Gullan goal chopped off twice but that was soon forgotten when he opened the scoring minutes later.
Sixth-tier Rose went into this one in excellent form and sitting pretty at the top of the East of Scotland Premier Division.
They went into this on the back of an unbeaten run in all competitions stretching back 23 matches into August, 22 of them wins.
It was a difficult evening for Ian Murray’s side but they got the job done and are into the next round.
Players returning from injury
It was a pleasant surprise to see so many players on the Rovers bench after just two outfield players were named in the recent win over Queen’s Park.
Kieran Ngwenya, Ethan Ross and Sam Stanton all trained in the build-up for the initial scheduled date.
Saturday’s postponement gave those players a few extra days of recovery and they were all named among the substitutes.
The teams for tonight: pic.twitter.com/dgz6vkJGVZ
— Craig Cairns (@craigcairns001) January 24, 2023
Stanton replaced Lewis Vaughan in the second half, his first appearance since before Christmas, and Ngwenya was given a short run out.
With Ross Millen suspended, Adam Masson came in at right-back.
Tough first half
Linlithgow started the better side, without troubling Jamie MacDonald, before Raith settled into the game.
Even when they did there was frustration in the final third, with Lewis Vaughan almost connecting with a deflected cross and Dylan Easton’s cross-cum-shot the closest they came.
Rovers improved before the break but it was Rose who came closest when Mark Stowe showed a deft touch to set himself up for a one-on-one with MacDonald but he pulled his shot wide.
Better second half – especially Gullan
Raith thought they were ahead within minutes of the restart when Gullan sent a delightful chip over the keeper.
It was flagged offside by the assistant, even though the forward had intercepted a back pass.
After consulting with his linesman, referee Graham Grainger bizarrely awarded the goal before changing his mind and disallowing it again.
The was no flag a few minutes after when Gullan raced on to Aidan Connolly’s pass to round Binnie – well out of his box – before passing into the net.
The forward almost doubled his tally with 10 minutes remaining but his effort cracked the post and later he was denied by an excellent one-on-one save from the keeper.
Gullan eventually got his second as the match drew to a close in an excellent second-half performance from the striker.
On to Motherwell
With Rovers recent calling for fresh investment, a money-spinning cup tie is undoubtedly welcome.
Motherwell took more than 2,000 up to Gayfield for their fourth-round win over Arbroath. and should also take a healthy support to Stark’s Park.
It will also be seen as a chance to progress. Though a few weeks yet, Saturday was Stevie Hammell’s first win in nine as Motherwell manager.
Rovers’ home form is good – the last time they lost in Kirkcaldy was the 5-2 defeat to Queen’s Park in November.
Murray’s side have won five and drawn three of their 11 home matches in the Scottish Championship.
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