There's another Raith corner.

It's a good ball in from Josh Mullin but Jamie Sneddon manages to punch it away and it goes out for yet another Raith corner.

This one is headed over by Daniel O'Reilly.

And right up the other end Sam Stanton tries his luck. The midfielder drives forward and takes the shot from just outside the box.

It looks like it clips the bar, but the referee deems that goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon got a touch on it. The resulting Rovers corner comes to nothing.

Ouch!published at 19:51 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2023

19:51 GMT 8 December 2023

Raith Rovers 0-0 Partick Thistle

Kerr McInroy floats a lovely ball into the box and Brian Graham goes down after a clash of heads.

It looks a sore one for the Thistle striker, who needs a bit of treatment after forcing goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski to push clear his near-post header, but he's back to his feet now and okay to continue.

Image source, SNS

Thistle's Steven Lawless gets things under way.

A big 90 minutes coming up...

Amy Canavan
BBC Scotland at Stark's Park

Nine wins from 13 games, 22 goals scored, just one defeat and 30 points accrued. Not bad for a team few pinned as the potential title challengers they're proving to be.

Ian Murray's meticulous moves in the summer flew under the radar a little. Perhaps because they were the only side who had nothing to play for on that fantastically frantic final day of last season. But it's paying dividends so far.

His impressive early business caught the eye. Bringing in the likes of Josh Mullin, Keith Watson, Kevin Dabrowski and Callum Smith before the end of June was the sign of a club far from content with merely lingering around in the Championship. This is a side with ambition.

The numbers above do much of the heavy lifting, but what is arguably most admirable is the attitude and application of Rovers. There is a never-say-die mentality in the ranks.

With five minutes left on Saturday in the Highlands, it appeared Duncan Ferguson's Inverness Caley Thistle were headed for a 1-0 victory. Ten minutes later, Rovers' celebrations - which no doubt continued on the long road home - erupted after a dramatic 2-1 victory for the visitors.

Scenes, that are a signature of Rovers this season.

Fourteen points have been garnered from the 85th minute onwards. That's the mindset of champions.

Thistle manager Kris Doolan tells BBC Scotland: "We are a team that score goals, we go forward with purpose and intent and I have been really impressed and delighted with the team.

"At times, you have got to be resilient. There have been times we have not had the ball, but we have not given away too many goals, we have not been cut open too many times and I think, in the Championship, you have to be able to do that - stop goals at one end and score at the other.

"It is a notoriously difficult place to come and we know we are up against a real good side tonight, but we come here with a lot of confidence and it should make for a good game."

Image source, SNS

Thistle midfielder Steven Lawless tells BBC Scotland: "We have been scoring a lot of goals, it is just making sure we are consistent. It is massive at this level, you need to put in performances week in, week out.

"We need to go out and put on a good performance and hopefully get the three points.

"I do not think we need to worry [about the game tonight].

"We had a good game against them at the start of the season, they got a point against us and I do not think that was on the balance of the game, we kind of threw it away.

"We need to worry about ourselves, I do not think many of the teams in the league will take us lightly so we know if we go out there and perform we can get a result."

Amy Canavan
BBC Scotland at Stark's Park

With a cracking cuppa tea and biscuits provided by the good folks at Raith, I'm having a pleasant evening... before the football has even started!

Home manager Ian Murray is too. For the first time in a very, very long time, he has a healthy pool of players to call upon. Only defender Keith Watson is unavailable tonight.

Frightening form given the small squad.

Raith Rovers boss Ian Murray tells BBC Scotland that Kris Doolan's Thistle "are a very good side".

"I have been really impressed with the work Kris has done," he says. "The game at Firhill was extremely tight.

"They are littered with quality players and they will fancy their chances tonight and so do we."

Image source, SNS

Rovers currently sit five points above tonight's opponents.

A win for Thistle would narrow the gap to two, while a win for Rovers would take them eight points clear of the visitors.

A victory would also move the Kirkcaldy side two points clear at the top of the table before Dundee United's game against Ayr United tomorrow.

There's a double change for Rovers from their 2-1 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Dylan Corr and Aidan Connolly drop to the bench and are replaced with defenders Euan Murray and Ross Millen.

Thistle make a triple change from their 2-1 win over Airdrieonians. Defender Harry Milne, midfielder Kerr McInroy and striker Brian Graham come in, with Wasiri Williams, Stuart Bannigan and Rico Diack on the bench.

Raith Rovers: Dabrowski, Dick, Millen, Murray, Vaughan, Mullin, Stanton, Hamilton, Byren, Easton, O'Reilly.

Substitutes: Thomson, Connolly, Matthews, Gullan, Smith, Corr, Brown, McGill, Hannah.

Partick Thistle: Sneddon, McMillan, Milne, Muirhead, Neilson, McInroy, Graham, Lawless, Fitzpatrick, Alston, Stanway.

Substitutes: Mitchell, Williams, Bannigan, Robinson, McGinley, Williamson, MacKenzie, Diack, Adeloye.

Who doesn't love a bit of Friday night football?

Tonight it's second v third in the Scottish Championship as Partick Thistle make the trip to Stark's Park - it's sure to be a cracker.

First up, the teams...

Image source, SNS