Raith Rovers v Ayr United Match preview

Raith Rovers welcome Ayr United to Stark's Park on Saturday for what is looking like an entertaining battle between two clubs which harbour ambitions to be involved in the promotion playoffs this season.

Ayr United, under the management of Celtic Legend Scott Brown, have been hard to beat so far this season, losing just once in their opening eight Championship games. That defeat came in the reverse fixture between the two clubs back in August, when Raith came away with a 1-0 victory after a first minute goal from Dylan Easton. The Visitors have only won twice this season, recording five draws, and it would seem like we could be in for a tight affair at Stark's Park, with both clubs having scored 10 and conceded 8 so far.

For Raith, a fifth win of the season could see them move into second place in the Championship table, depending on the outcome of Partick Thistle's trip to Greenock Morton. Last season Raith defeated Ayr 2-0 and 1-0 in the Championship, but historically this has been a tight affair, with Raith winning 13, Ayr winning 14 and 11 draws in their 38 previous matches.

Raith's Dylan Easton is the fifth-top scorer in the league, with 4 goals so far, and he will be hoping to add more to his tally for the club, which stands at 44 goals since he joined in 2022.

For Ayr the danger man is more difficult to pinpoint, with goals being shared around the side. Ayr will leapfrog their hosts with any victory on Saturday.

Raith are the most recent Fife club to have won a Major trophy, recently celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1994 Coca-Cola Cup triumph over Celtic. That success saw them qualify for the following season's UEFA Cup, where they reached the second round, losing 1-4 on aggregate to Bayern Munich. They have also won the Scottish Challenge Cup three times, most recently in 2022, and they have won the second tier of Scottish Football 6 times.

Ayr United have never won a National Cup in Scotland, but have also won the second tier of Scottish Football on 6 occasions.

I will be in Kirkcaldy all morning ahead of the game capturing content for the project and setting the scene for the match on the GRNDSTND Facebook page, with a full match report and selected images from the game to come on www.grndstnd.co.uk on Saturday evening.

The match is part of the project - OUR GAME: Community and Identity through Football by Matt Hooper Photography. The project explores the relationship between fans and players, and the club within the community, as well as showing how fans, and players use football to show their identity. The project will be published as a book and in an exhibition once completed, and has so far included matches at Dundee United, Dundee, East Fife, Arbroath, Swindon Town, St Andrews United and Cupar Hearts. Both Raith and Ayr have featured in previous matches within the project, at Arbroath, with Raith playing their part in a stunning 3-3 draw at Gayfield in March 2022.

Matches at Dunfermline Athletic, Kelty Hearts, Dundee North End, and other Dundee junior and amateur clubs will feature over this winter.

The goal is to photograph as many different clubs, at as many different levels as possible across Scotland, and the world, and over the coming months and years it is hoped the project will include matches at the iconic Hackney Marshes in London, showcasing Sunday League football at its very best. At some stage in the future I will also be returning to my home town of Devizes in Wiltshire, to capture a game featuring Devizes Town FC. I will also aim to capture women's football as part of the project by covering games in the SWPL. The project though is about far more than just match action, it is about showing community and identity through the world's most popular and important sport - Football. Illustrating and demonstrating its vital place at the heart of a community, and showcasing how people show identity through the wearing of club shirts, scarves and how they behave. The project is also about showing how a football stadium or pitch sits within the environment, and how it affects the environment around it.

I don't know how long the project will last or where it will take me, but I am going to enjoy finding out.

GRNDSTND, written by Matt Hooper