Ladbrokes League 1
Venue – Station Park
Date – Saturday 28th September
Admission Prices – Stand – Adults £15 Concessions (65& over) £9 Under 17’s £5
Terracing – Adults £14 Concessions £8 Under 17’s £5
Forfar Athletic season tickets valid for this fixture.
Strict terracing segregation will be enforced at this fixture. Forfar Athletic supporters heading to the terracing should enter via the turnstiles in Carseview Road, while Raith Rovers supporters should utilise the turnstiles situated at the northeast corner of the ground, adjacent to the Auction Mart Car Park. Stand patrons enter via normal turnstile at the east end of the main stand.
Current League Positions – Forfar Athletic – 4th – 10 points from 7 games Raith Rovers – 1st - 15 points from 7 games
Summary – Forfar Athletic and Raith Rovers go into battle on Saturday at Station Park for the first time this season, having ‘crossed swords’ on six occasions last term including of course the two-legged Championship Play-Off Semi-Final which ended in a single goal defeat for the Athies. Rovers then went on to lose to Queen of the South in the final.
There was a real boost for the Station Park squad on Thursday evening when Manager Jim Weir though not yet totally recovered from the injuries sustained in last week’s motorway accident returned to supervise training.
Jim returned to a squad as he was fully aware, decimated by injury. Dale Hilson is ruled out following the injury sustained at Falkirk and he is joined on the sidelines by Andy Jackson following the severe head knock he picked up last week against the ‘Gable Endies’ and on loan Rory Currie who was forced off late in the same contest with an ankle knock. Scott Robertson is also rated doubtful.
The manager has therefore been working feverishly from home this week trying to boost the squad numbers ahead of Raith’s visit and he is hopeful of two additions prior to kick-off, but as ever the club will make no announcement till the ink is dry on the registration papers.
The visitors travel to Forfar having moved into pole position in the table following last week’s single goal victory at Airdrie courtesy of a second-half counter from Grant Anderson.
Rovers boss John McGlynn has brought in fifteen new faces since the end of last season, ten of them featuring in the matchday squad last weekend.
Two familiar faces in the Raith ranks are of course John Baird who signed on as an amateur last week upon his unexpected return from Australia and Brad Spencer who spent the second half of the 2018/19 campaign at Station Park. Striker Lewis Allan also had a short spell in the ‘toonie’ on loan from Hibernian a few years back.
All connected with the ‘Loons’ were delighted with the three-point haul last Saturday against Montrose in what was a gutsy display, perhaps not pleasing to the eye throughout, but the win was the objective no matter how it was achieved.
It also lifted Michael Travis and his colleagues back into a top-four spot which no doubt they would love to cement against Rovers, especially with two away games next on the horizon and no home game scheduled until October 26th.
C’mon the ‘Loons.’
Match Officials – Referee – Gavin Ross Assistants – Gordon Crawford & Kevin Lindsay
Saturday’S Ladbrokes League 1 Fixtures – Airdrieonians v Stranraer, Dumbarton v Clyde, Falkirk v East Fife, Montrose v Peterhead
Match Sponsor – Iain Bett
Hospitality Complex Guests – Steve Durward & Friends, Jim Johnston & Friends, Chris Machin & Friends, G.R. McLuskey & Son
Match Ball Sponsor – Fred & Rosemary Stephen
Supporters Information –
The 1984 Lounge at Station Park will be open from 12.30 p.m. till kick-off. The lounge will re-open on the final whistle until around 8 p.m.
Club Shop open prior to kick-off and during the half-time interval. Seats can be booked at the Club Shop for Supporters Coach to Dumbarton on 5th October
A limited number of team sheets will be available while stocks last free of charge at the Club Shop, the Refreshment Kiosk or within the 1984 Lounge.
50/50 tickets are available from vendors inside the ground.
