7th Feb 1998 Raith Rovers 2 Partick Thistle 0 (SFL First Division - game 24)

matches:1997-98: ← 29game 3031 →

	Jimmy Nicholl	John McVeigh	41y, 0m, 13d

		Iain Nicolson; Alan Morgan
		Jamie McKenzie; Alex Martin

Craig Dargo (0-1, 53 mins); John Millar (0-2, 61 mins)
		Alan Archibald; Billy Macdonald
		Kevin Gaughan (@ 0-0, 43 mins)
Keith Wright (Jay Stein, 80 mins)		Alan Morgan (Martin Lauchlan, 64 mins)

	Guido Van De Kamp	Kenny Arthur	19y, 2m, 0d
	Kevin Fotheringham	Iain Nicolson	21y, 3m, 25d
	Craig McEwan	Alan Archibald	20y, 1m, 25d
	Paul Browne	Callum Milne	32y, 5m, 11d
	Scott Thomson	Kevin Gaughan	19y, 11m, 1d
	future Jag Danny Lennon	Billy Macdonald	21y, 4m, 21d
	John Millar	Jimmy Boyle	30y, 11m, 19d
	Paul Hartley	Nicky Henderson	28y, 11m, 30d
	Jason Dair	Alan Lawrence	35y, 5m, 19d
	future Jag Craig Dargo	Alan Morgan	23y, 1m, 28d
	Keith Wright	Andy Lyons	31y, 3m, 19d

			25y, 10m, 4d

	future Jag Lee Dair	Martin Lauchlan	17y, 4m, 6d
	Jay Stein	Jamie McKenzie	17y, 2m, 9d
	Andy Galloway	Alex Martin	18y, 5m, 20d

TTA report

STJ Fund reached £100,000. Gaughan was red-carded for disputing a dive but the excellent Arthur saved the spot-kick (43). After Rovers went ahead (53) Milne's free-kick from half-way hit the bar. A fine goal made it 2-0 (61) and the task was beyond the 10 men. To rub it in, Lauchlan saw his late pen saved.

Media report

09-Feb-1998, The Herald

HIS mannerisms may have strongly resembled those of James Cagney, but John McVeigh sure was not acting. As he stood chatting to the media inside Stark's Park, arms and head twitching almost in unison, one almost expected jets of steam to come squirting from the man's ears at any time, such was his dark mood at that moment.

Of course, it is not exactly uncommon for managers such as McVeigh to become a little perturbed when their side has been turned over, some even daring to chastise the match referee in public and later having to suffer the consequences. However, the Partick Thistle official, having been over the course many times, is not so foolish, but his frustration was there for all to witness. The reason for McVeigh's deep depression was a decision by referee Ian Emslie to dispatch Thistle's Kevin Gaughan indoors after he and Keith Wright had fallen to the ground, and awarded Raith a penalty - which they missed. Now, when a player has committed such an offence, normal behaviour is for him to brush off the mud and just get on with it. However, it is only when a feeling of gross injustice enters the situation that normality is cast to the four winds. On being informed of his fate, the Thistle player took his leave of proceedings, but not before having a swift chat to Wright on the way, the subject of which is a complete mystery, especially to the Raith man. “I couldn't hear what he said,” claimed Wright, which is a little surprising considering Gaughan was six inches away and possibly using a raised tone. Every time Wright then went anywhere near the ball he was branded “a cheat” by the Thistle supporters which is perhaps somewhat hard. The loss of a man turned the game in Raith's favour and they duly scooped up the points thanks to goals from Craig Dargo and John Millar.

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