Raith 1 Hibernian 0

Substitute Harry Panayiotou's second-half goal gave Raith a 1-0 win over Hibernian in the first leg of their Premiership play-off at a blustery Stark's Park.

Hibs striker Jason Cummings missed the best chance of the goalless first period when he lifted the ball over the bar with only goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert to beat.

The visitors had the better of the second half but lacked a cutting edge and were made to pay in the 74th minute when Panayiotou, on for James Craigen, headed in a corner from fellow substitute Louis Longridge.

The win stretched the Kirkcaldy side's unbeaten run to 12 games and will give them plenty of encouragement for Saturday's return game at Easter Road, where Hibs will need to find their shooting boots if they want to progress to the semi-final against Falkirk.

It was Rovers who threatened first in the fifth minute when midfielder Aidan Connolly tested Hibees number one Conrad Logan with an angled drive from 14 yards.

Within seconds Cuthbert pushed a powerful shot from Cummings around the post for a corner which came to nothing, before making another decent stop from Marvin Bartley's 25-yard effort.

The home goalkeeper was called into action again in the 28th minute to save Anthony Stokes' close-range header after Fraser Fyvie had picked out the on-loan striker out with a fine cross.

The swirling wind was proving difficult for both sets of players.

The visitors, however, should have gone ahead with five minutes of the first half remaining when Cummings beat the offside trap to latch onto midfielder John McGinn's perfectly weighted through-ball.

But, with only Cuthbert to beat, the forward all too casually lobbed the ball over the bar.

The second half saw no increase in quality, with the ball again spending too much time in the air.

In the 64th minute, Rovers boss Ray McKinnon - linked with the vacant post at Dundee United - replaced Connolly and Craigen with Longridge and Panayiotou.

And just over 10 minutes later the two Rovers replacements combined for the crucial goal when Longridge's corner was met at the near post by Panayiotou, who headed past Logan.

Moments later, as Hibs reeled from the sucker-punch, only a fine block from Logan prevented Longridge grabbing a second with a powerful shot from 10 yards.

Alan Stubbs' men pushed hard in the final few minutes for a leveller but to no avail, which came as no surprise on the evidence of their finishing throughout the game.