Two points split the top four as Raith host Dunfermline
A preview of MatchDay 14 in the Scottish Championship, where Friday's meeting at Stark's Park could change the top of the table.
By Barrie Moran,
Two points cover the top four in the Scottish Championship, and the round opens on Friday night with two of them meeting. Raith Rovers and Dunfermline are level on 24 points going into the game at Stark's Park, one behind Partick Thistle. Whoever wins will go top unless Partick win at Queen's Park the following afternoon.
Friday at Stark's Park
Dunfermline arrive as the most consistent side near the top. They have won three in a row, are unbeaten in five and have conceded only two goals across that run. Raith have the better goal difference of the pair, plus 11 to plus 8, and have scored nine in their last five, but their sequence has been less tidy, with a defeat and a draw among the wins. The most recent meeting went to Dunfermline 1-0, which suggests the margins between these two can be fine. A draw would leave both on 25 and give Partick the chance to stretch the gap.
Partick and Stenhousemuir face different tests
Partick lost their last match, their only defeat in five, and now face the bottom side. Queen's Park have lost three in a row and four of their last five, scoring four times in that spell. On form it is the kindest fixture any of the leaders have this weekend, though the last meeting between them ended 0-0. A win would keep Partick top whatever happens on Friday.
Stenhousemuir are the oddity in the top four. They sit fourth on 23 points but have taken one point from their last five matches, scoring once and conceding ten. That run has worn their goal difference down to plus one for the season. They go to Cappielow to face a Greenock Morton side that has won three straight. Stenhousemuir won the last meeting 2-0, but current form points the other way. In the right combination of results a win could still take them top. Another defeat would leave them open to being caught from below.
Fifth against sixth in Inverness
That threat comes from Livingston, fifth on 20 points after two straight wins. They visit Inverness, a point behind them, who have won three of their last five but lost their most recent match. The last meeting finished 2-2. A Livingston win combined with a Stenhousemuir defeat would draw the two sides level on 23, and Livingston's goal difference of plus 7 is considerably healthier. An Inverness win would lift them to 22 and keep them firmly in that conversation.
The foot of the table
Arbroath have lost five in a row, scoring once and conceding 12 in that time, and their goal difference of minus 15 is the worst in the division. They host Ayr United, who sit on 15 points with a game in hand and won the last meeting 2-0. Ayr's own form is mixed, two wins, a draw and two defeats from five, but it is a good deal steadier than Arbroath's.
The Gayfield result matters for more than Arbroath's run. Greenock Morton are a point behind them on 10 with a game in hand, so a Morton win over Stenhousemuir would lift them above Arbroath unless Arbroath end their losing sequence. Queen's Park, on seven points, are four adrift of Arbroath going into their home game against the leaders.
My view is that Friday carries the most weight. Dunfermline's defensive record over recent weeks makes them hard to back against, but Raith at home with nine goals in five is not a side to dismiss, and a draw would surprise nobody.