Raith Rovers will begin their defence of the KDM Evolution Trophy away to Hamilton Academical in the Round of 32. The draw, announced on Thursday, pits the holders against the Accies at New Douglas Park on either November 3 or 4. The side will look to carry their positive league form into the cup, having finished the previous league campaign in 5th place in the Scottish Championship with 45 points from 36 games, a record of twelve wins, nine draws and fifteen defeats.

Manager Dougie Imrie confirmed the tie as the start of their trophy defence. "Raith Rovers will begin their defence of last football season’s KDM Evolution Trophy away to Hamilton Academical next month," Imrie said.

Recent dominance over Accies

Raith Rovers have a strong recent record against Hamilton, winning three of the four meetings last season. This includes a 5-2 victory at Stark's Park in December, where Jai Rowe scored a hat-trick and Darragh O'Connor and Scott Brown also found the net. They also recorded 3-0 away wins in both January and March of 2025.

This will be the second consecutive season the teams have met at this stage of the competition. The Rovers lifted the trophy, also known as the SPFL Challenge Cup, in April by beating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4-1 at Firhill Stadium.

Building on league momentum

Raith Rovers head into the cup tie in good form, having won their last two league matches. They beat Queen's Park 2-0 last weekend and came from behind to defeat Morton 2-1 the week before. Those results have helped the side to second place in the standings with 20 points from ten games. The team's next fixture is a home match against Morton on December 12, a game that will be played at Stark's Park. That match will see them face an opponent currently sitting 8th in the table. The recent victories over Queen's Park on Saturday 10 October and Morton on Saturday 3 October form part of a recent run of two wins and no draws or defeats, putting the team on a two-game winning run. Over the course of the previous league season, the team scored 43 goals and conceded 42, finishing with a goal difference of plus one.

Hamilton Academical, managed by Darian MacKinnon, finished ninth in the KDM Trophy's league phase last term. Raith Rovers' immediate focus returns to league action, with that home fixture against Morton scheduled for December 12.

The original report is at Raith Rovers.net