Ladbrokes Scottish Championship
AYR UNITED 1
RAITH ROVERS 0
By Stephen Bark
AYR United picked up a first league win in 15 attempts as they narrowly saw off a lacklustre Raith Rovers side 1-0 at Somerset Park.
The big news before kick-off was John Hughes’ decision to put Ayr legend Ryan Stevenson in goal after Raith were denied an emergency loan -despite having three first team goalkeepers out injured.

The away side had asked for the fixture to be postponed but the SPFL said it would go ahead as planned.
The Honest Men made five changes from the side which lost 2-0 to St Mirren at the weekend. Brian Gilmour, Alan Forrest, Craig McGuffie, Scott McKenna and Mick Wardrope were drafted in after Ayr suffered an injury crisis of their own.
Stevenson was forced into action early and, within 90 seconds, he pulled off a wonderful save to deny Farid El Alagui a first goal in black and white.

A hammer blow was dealt Ayr in four minutes when Paul Cairney was stretchered off with ligament damage after catching his studs in the turf.
Rovers were nearly in front after seven minutes when Chris Johnston picked up a slack pass and drove forwards. He slipped the ball to Ryan Hardie and when he couldn’t get a shot away, the ball broke to Johnston who toe-poked it past Greg Fleming only for Nicky Devlin to clear it off the line.
After 27 minutes, Ross Callachan flicked a long ball forward onto the head of Hardie and his header was too high for Fleming but it came rattling back of the crossbar.
The best chance of the half fell to the Honest Men when Craig McGuffie’s perfectly weighted ball saw Forrest clean through on Stevenson but his shot flew over the bar.
Raith were agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in 36 minutes. Hardie’s cross found Johnston at the near post but the ex-Kilmarnock man couldn’t find the target.
Stevenson was tested from range for the first time after 42 minutes. Substitute Michael Rose picked up the ball 30 yards out and fired a low shot towards the bottom corner and the stand-in did well to get down and keep it out.
The visitors should have been 1-0 up on 52 minutes. Kyle Benedictus’ cross found Hardie free in the six-yard box with the goal gapping but somehow the striker managed to re-direct the ball back from where it came and Ayr could clear.
The deadlock was finally broken in 61 minutes after Forrest’s cross was deflected out for a corner. Brian Gilmour’s delivered the ball on a plate for El Alagui at the far post and easily head the ball home.
Moments later, Ayr were denied shots for a penalty when Forrest got the better of Jean-Yves M’voto to drive into the box. The Frenchman brought Forrest to the ground but referee Willie Collum indicated the Raith defender had won the ball fairly.
Ayr had a chance to extend the lead 72 minutes when substitute Craig Moore picked up the ball 30 yards out. He drove at M’voto and worked a position to shoot but his effort was deflected up and the back-tracking Stevenson caught it on the line. The home fans yelled out, more in hope than expectation, claiming the ball had crossed the line when Stevenson took a further step back.
Hughes' substitutions combined to create an excellent chance for an equaliser. Joel Coustrain’s cross from deep on the left found Bobby Barr at the far post but he couldn’t keep the header down.
The away bench leapt to their feet with moments to go when Jason Thomson went to ground in the box. The referee was having none of it however and Ayr held on to see out the much needed win.
AYR UNITED: Fleming; Devlin, Gilmour, Forrest, Cairney (Rose 4), McGuffie (Boyle 83), McKenna, Wardrope (Moore 56), Meggatt, El Alagui, Balatoni. Unused subs: Hart; Harkins, McKenzie.
RAITH ROVERS: Stevenson; Thomson, Callachan, M’voto, Benedictus (Coustrain 69), McHattie, Johnston (B Barr 79), Davidson, Hardie, C Barr, McManus (Stewart 79). Unused subs: Matthews, Roberts, Skacel, Thompson.
Star man: 1st Farid El Alagui, 2nd Daryll Meggatt, 3rd Nicky Devlin
Attendance: 1,103