Aaron Arnott notched his first ever senior goal to fire Raith Rovers into the final of the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Arnott, who only turned 18 in November, climbed from the bench to lash home a last-gasp winner after Kyle Benedictus saw his penalty kick saved.
It completed a laudable, gutsy comeback from Raith, with Ross Matthews’ solo stunner having cancelled out Oli Shaw’s first-half penalty.
The Kirkcaldy club will face Queen of the South in the showpiece on the first weekend of April.
Woodwork woes
Rovers, who welcomed Brad Spencer back onto the bench after his recovery from a broken leg, are technically the holders of this competition.
Well, co-holders.
John McGlynn’s charges reached the 2019/20 final alongside Inverness and, with the tournament shelved due the Covid outbreak, the sides shared the trophy.
But they were keen to get their hands on the silverware without the asterisk in 2022.
Abair oidhrip bho Zanatta!@RaithRovers come close to opening the score! Join us now LIVE on BBC ALBA 📺 pic.twitter.com/8BJFkz1rSC
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) March 2, 2022
Rovers exploded out of the blocks, with Killie goalkeeper Sam Walker tipping a wonderful Dario Zanatta drive onto the cross-bar.
Not to be outdone, Rovers custodian Jamie MacDonald stood firm when Daniel MacKay scampered clean through on goal, superbly thwarting the on-loan Hibernian winger.
Ethon Varian should have done better when he showed fine movement to meet a Zanatta delivery, only to skew his header wide from six yards.
Fhuair @RaithRovers a' bhall sa lìon ach chan eil e a' cunntadh ❌
Are Raith Rovers unfortunate to have this ruled out? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/F1tV2Hu5GI
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) March 2, 2022
And when Varian did bundle the ball into the net, it was disallowed by referee Grant Irvine, with the Ireland under-21 internationalist adjudged to have fouled Chris Stokes as he battled for possession.
A Shaw thing from the spot
The Fifers fell behind on the cusp of half-time after Zanatta felled Jason Naismith inside the box. Mr Irvine pointed to the spot without delay and Shaw slammed beyond MacDonald from 12 yards.
The second half commenced with Shaw — chasing a double — lashing a ferocious effort wide of the post after beating Kyle Benedictus for pace.
MacDonald then fielded a low shot from MacKay, before Declan Glass skewed an effort inches past the post.
Matthews magic
But it would be Rovers who restored parity with 23 minutes left on the clock.
Matthews surged forward on the break and, with neither Killie centre-back stepping out to engage him, curled home a sumptuous effort from 20 yards.
The moment @RaithRovers leveled the score ⚽️
— SPFL Trust (@SPFLTrust) March 2, 2022
Raith had the wind in their sails. Reghan Tumilty fired over the bar and Benedictus forced a sensational stop from Walker with a point-blank header.
And the comeback was completed in the dying embers when whistler Irvine deemed Ben Williamson to have been hauled down in the box.
Benedictus stepped up and saw his effort saved by Walker — only for precocious teenager Arnott to react quickest to fire Rovers into the final.
