Raith Rovers0–2Inverness CT

Alfie Stewart Brace wins the points


From the walking wounded, Lewis Stevenson and Paul McMullan started for the hosts. Zak Delaney and Andy Millen were on the bench and George Oakley was up front. However, Dylan Easton is out for months and Calum Adamson, Anton Dowds, John Robertson, Charlie Telfer and Lewis Vaughn all missed out today. Scott Kellacher had Danny Devine, Adam Mackinnon and Luis Longstaff out for the visitors. Storm Austen had blown over and it was the turn of Storm Boelo to make an appearance. And the rain came...

At the end of the day, despite the weather, it was three points for the Highlanders and off up the A9 with them.

Fair play to the fans that travelled through the eye of the storm today.

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Here's the action:

Inverness closed the gap on third place to two points with an excellent away win at Starks Park. Alfie Stewart opened the scoring with a superb low strike from the edge of the circle outside the box after quarter of an hour. He doubled the lead ten minutes before the break with Layton Stewart prominent in most attacks and Alfie with the finishing touches. Great first half from the Caley Jags and they saw out the second half relatively comfortably.

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The weather was closing in again ahead of kick-off with heavy rain from around an hour before the scheduled start. The game at Greenock was called off an hour and a half before kick-off as the weather got the better of Cappielow which meant a rest day for Morton and Ayr United. Ross Munro was the first keeper to be called into action saving comfortably from the tricky Scott Tiffoney who saw his low shot to the keepers left gathered. Alfie Bavidge tested Josh Rae at the other end with a header and Liam Sole had a low shot from twenty-yards palmed away by the keeper. Following a wayward pass by Sole Raith Rovers broke forward. Lyall's shot was deflected to George Oakley and his effort from a tight angle was cleared off the line by Kerr Smith before Munro was able to gather the rebound. A couple of minutes later and the Caley Jags took the lead through a tremendous controlled low strike by Alfie Stewart from twenty-two yards when he stepped onto a loose ball that bounced back off Layton Stewart just outside the box. Alfie arrowed the ball into the bottom corner impeccably. Boom!!! One of Raith's top scorers this season Jai Rowe headed wide with half an hour gone. Stewart doubled his and the Caley Jags tally when he swept in from close range following a quick break forward with Layton Stewart again assisting the wee man with the cut-back for him to sweep the ball home. Great ball forward from Shinnie to set Layton away. Boom Boom!!! Rovers upped the pace before the interval and Jack Baird had a header blocked away on the line by Bavidge and Jai Rowe was booked but we went in two goals to the good.

HALF TIME: 0-2

No subs at the break and the visitors will have to be wary of sitting too deep in the opening half of the second period, something we have been guilty of in previous outings. Fortunately we had a more positive attitude and approaching the hour were untroubled although danger defender Rowe headed over again. Liam Sole took a knock and was replaced by Ryan Duncan with twenty-five minutes remaining. After Roddy MacGregor had a shot blocked Alfie Bavidge shot high and wide. Oakley almost pulled one back following a corner but his close range header cleared the bar. Osong replaced Layton Stewart with just over ten minutes left at the end of a great shift from Layton. In the final moments Ryan Duncan was denied by Josh Rae and in time added on Montagu had an effort deflected wide and Alfie Stewart was denied his hat-trick by the home keeper just before the final whistle after a lung bursting run forward from sixty-yards out. Keeper Josh Rae made a sprawling finger tip save to keep the ball out and was fortunate it never fell to the incoming Junior Osong.

FULL TIME: 0-2