John McGlynn insists there are plenty of positives to take from the battling display from his Raith Rovers side at Arbroath, earning them a point.
The visitor’s chances were few and far between with just two shots on target in the 0-0 draw.
While the forwards didn’t see much action, it was a different story for the Rovers’ backline.
With a back five, McGlynn packed his defence to match the Lichties’ towering forwards. In the end they partly what they set out to achieve in keeping a clean sheet.
‘Steam-rollered’
His counterpart Dick Campbell said Raith paid his side “the biggest compliment” by the way they set about the game and McGlynn agreed.
“If we didn’t match them, we would have got steam-rollered,” he explained.
“We went purposely with a big, strong, physical back five to match their physicality.
“Arbroath are making a mockery of part time and full-time football.
“They are doing so, so well. If you don’t deal with their physicality, you’ll lose.
“We stood up to it and got that clean sheet. They’ve scored a lot of goals this year.
“We came here to win, we didn’t but got the clean sheet and now that’s 14 games unbeaten.”
Rovers were on the back foot much of the first foot, but weathered the storm.
Ethan Ross praise
McGlynn believes the long trip up to Inverness in the Challenge Cup earlier in the week could have been a factor.
“We were up at Inverness on Tuesday night, the guys travelled a long way up there and played a difficult game, getting back late, so that’s maybe why they didn’t start quite so well,” he said.
It was almost roles-reversed in the second half with Raith coming out more positive. Frankie Musonda was replaced by Ethan Ross who injected a bit of pace into the game.
“Ethan Ross put in a fantastic performance. He got us up the park and got us balls we had no right to get,” McGlynn said.
“He put pressure on the defenders and that was a big part of his game.
“It’s what all of our players are delighted about that he’s doing that. He gets it up the park and takes the pressure off.”
Brad Spencer injury
One area of concern for Raith is the injury to Brad Spencer. The 25-year-old came off worse in a 50-50 challenge with Arbroath’s Michael McKenna, around 58 minutes.
Spencer was in clear discomfort as a stretcher was called for. The midfielder was able to hobble off the park, but boss McGlynn is waiting to hear back on the extent of the injury.
“It seems to be on his shin, so he’s going to go for an X-ray now,” he said.
“It’s not looking great; we just need to wait and see.”
