Hibernian F.C. Match Reports
Raith Rovers 1 Hibernian 0 (Match abandoned after 46 minutes)
Pre-Season Challenge Match
Tuesday 21st July 2009

Another big following from Edinburgh made their second journey over the Forth Bridge in the last four days. Ahead of kick-off there was an impeccably observed minutes silence for Lothian and Borders Fire Fighter Ewan Williamson, who recently lost his life.

Raith were the first side to have a shot on goal when Davidson's effort from distance took a wicked deflection from Hogg and had Ma-Kalambay scrambling for it. The ball however finished wide of target and the resultant free kick was easily dealt with by the towering goalkeeper. Hibernian tried to respond when Wotherspoon tried his luck from distance but his shot was wild and well off target. On 16 minutes a powerful low drive from Galbraith was touched around his post by McGurn for Hibernian's first corner kick.

image A snap shot from Smith just seconds later had to be carefully dealt with by Ma-Kalambay on the greasy Stark's Park surface, the big goalkeeper getting both hands behind the ball to smother it inside a packed penalty area. Hibernian had the ball in the net on 19 minutes when McGurn failed to hold a fierce drive from Zemmama and Johansson turned it into the net. The Hibernian striker's celebrations were cut short however by referee's assistant Chrichton who thought that Johansson was offside when he scored.

The Easter Road men were beginning to take a grip on proceedings and Zemmama was almost through on goal after a quick counter attack. Wotherspoon robbed Simmons of possession in midfield and laid the ball off to Johansson, the striker ran at the Raith defence before threading a pass for Zemmama but McGurn was alert and raced from his goal to save.

Despite being on top it was Raith Rovers who opened the scoring on 26 minutes when Tade's cut back found Williamson unmarked inside the penalty area and his shot took a big deflection off Stevenson to divert it passed the diving Ma-Kalambay. That break came for the home side after a mix-up in the Hibernian defence which had otherwise looked comfortable.

After an impressive performance on Saturday against Dunfermline Athletic, Merouane Zemmama was naturally full of confidence and he almost grabbed a stunning equaliser when he burst forward from midfield, evaded a couple of challenges before shooting just wide of goal from 25 yards.

The home side should have scored a second goal when a long clearance forward from Ellis was left by Steven Thicot allowing Tade to race through on goal. The powerful striker hit his shot early with Ma-Kalambay saving with his legs, the ball rebounded to Weir and his first time effort was also kept out by the big goalkeeper. Zemmama looked to be Hibernian's best attacking option and time and again he would he would carve out an opportunity for himself on the edge of the box, but the little midfielder's finishing continued to let him down.

The majority of Hibernian's efforts at goal were coming from outside of the penalty area and that was playing straight into the hands of goalkeeper McGurn and his defence. Kevin McCann was next up to try and break through a stubborn home rear guard but his 20 yards shot did little to threaten McGurn. Before the break Raith were forced into a change when Tade picked up a knock and had to be replaced by former Livingston player Walker. That was the final incident of note in a disappointing first half with Raith deserving of their narrow advantage. John Hughes' side had so far failed to reproduce the free-flowing football of Saturday against a Rovers side that were not allowing Hibernian any time on the ball.

Half Time: Raith Rovers 1 Hibernian 0

The playing conditions worsened during the half time interval with thunder storms around the stadium culminating in torrential rain. John Hughes made four changes at the break with McCann, Wotherspoon, Stevenson and Galbraith all withdrawn and replaced by Cregg, Riordan, Van Zanten, Murray.

Raith got the second half underway but with only 30 seconds played the floodlights failed and referee Somers recalled both teams to the changing rooms. After a 15 minute delay and with the weather getting even worse, it was decided for the safety of both the players and the supporters to abandon the match.

Referee David Somers gave the following statement immediately after the game: "A power surge caused the floodlights to fail and I was informed that it would need between five and ten minutes to allow electricians to fix them. I took the decision to take the players off the field to allow them to be fixed but it soon became apparent that there was not only a problem overhead but under foot too.

"As the weather conditions got even worse, we had at least two or three bolts of lightening and my concern at this point became for the safety of the players. Taking into consideration those conditions at that time and in conjunction with the match commander, we took the decision to abandon the game as a consequence of that."

Raith Rovers confirmed that as the match had kicked off in the second half, and given the game was neither league or cup fixture, there is no protocol nor mechanism to offer supporters any refund.

Raith Rovers: McGurn, Wilson, Ellis, Campbell, Murray, Davidson, Williamson, Simmons, Tade, Weir, Smith. Subs: Ferry, Walker, Hill, Bryce, O'Connor.

Hibernian: Ma-Kalambay, McCann, Hanlon, Hogg, Thicot, McBride, Zemmama, Wotherspoon, Johansson, Stevenson, Galbraith. Subs: Van Zanten, Murray, Cregg, Rankin, Flynn, Bamba, Riordan, Cropley, Nish, McCormack, Keenan.

Referee: David Sommers.