Raith Rovers halt winless run with victory at Queen of the South

Soccer – Scottish Premiership – Play-Off – Quarter Final – First Leg – Queen of South v Rangers – Palmerston Park
(Image credit: Jeff Holmes)

Raith Rovers ended their 11-game winless streak in the cinch Championship as they edged a 1-0 win over Queen of the South at Palmerston Park.

The visitors headed into the game under pressure to turn their ailing season around on the back of last week’s dismal 4-0 defeat to Ayr.

And a messy 21st-minute effort from Matej Poplatnik proved enough for the visitors to halt their slide away from promotion contention.

The relegation-threatened hosts struggled to make a breakthrough in a scrappy game, with Willie Gibson coming closest when his second-half free-kick was tipped away by Jamie MacDonald.

The result leaves Raith just a point behind fourth-placed Inverness, while Queen of the South’s second straight loss leaves them six adrift of eighth-placed Hamilton.