The teams were separated by almost the entire length of the Second Division prior to kick-off and it didn't take the promotion-challenging visitors long to lay down a marker, opening the scoring with only 40 seconds on the clock.
The Binos moved forward straight from kick off and midfielder Marek Tomana made space for himself before driving in a thundering shot which completely deceived Raith keeper Michael Brown as it flew high into the net.
The home side's task wasn't helped by an enforced substitution after only six minutes, midfielder Paul Currie being carried off on a stretcher to be replaced by Sean Hamilton and three minutes later they almost found themselves two goals down, Brown saving well from Chris Aitken's well struck free-kick.
Hjalmar Thorarinsson missed a great chance to equalise for Rovers, the Icelander shooting wildly over the bar after Myles Hogarth had spilled a shot from Armand One, but the Kirkcaldy side did draw level in 33 minutes, Kevin Fotheringham converting from the penalty spot after Mark McNally had tripped Steven Bonar.
Thorarinsson again missed a great chance just before the interval, his close-range effort sailing high over the bar following a superb run and cross from One.
Aitken's dead-ball abilities were evident in the second half, the Stirling midfielder twice bringing out great saves from Brown through his fiercely struck long-range free-kicks while at the other end, Hogarth saved superbly from One as Raith pushed hard for a winner.
Stirling finished strongly however, Cramb driving home in the 82nd minute after being set up by substitute Shields and Shields himself made it 3-1 with two minutes remaining, tapping into the empty net after a mix-up between Brown and Mark Campbell.