Raith ease past Ayr to go eight points clear in Championship

Oli Shaw and Jamie Gullan goals do the damage as Rovers extend run to seven games unbeaten

Oli Shaw and Jamie Gullan were on target as Raith Rovers eased to a 2-0 victory over Ayr United in the Scottish Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The win extends Rovers' unbeaten run to seven games and moves them eight points clear of second-placed Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Ayr, meanwhile, remain rooted to the bottom of the table and have now lost seven of their last eight games.

Raith started the game brightly and took the lead in the 12th minute when Shaw headed home from close range after good work from Gullan.

The visitors had a chance to level things up just before the half-hour mark, but Michael Moffat fired wide from a good position.

Raith doubled their lead in the 67th minute when Gullan converted from the penalty spot after Ayr goalkeeper Ross Doohan had brought down Shaw.

Ayr's misery was compounded in the closing stages when Jack Baird and Luke McCowan were both sent off for second bookable offenses.

Raith manager Ian Murray was delighted with his team's performance.

"I thought we were excellent today," he said. "We controlled the game from start to finish and created a number of good chances.

"The players deserve a lot of credit for the way they played. They worked hard for each other and showed a lot of quality on the ball."

Ayr manager David Hopkin was disappointed with his team's performance.

"We were second best today," he said. "We didn't create enough chances and we made too many mistakes.

"We need to improve our performances if we want to start winning games."