Raith Rovers go into this weekend’s crunch Scottish Championship match pointless and goalless – though that fails to tell the whole story.
A difficult time recruiting players has led to not one, not two but three players making their debuts hours after signing.
In the cases of Ryan Nolan and Connor O’Riordan, it involved long journies from England.
It is hoped the brand-new central-defensive pairing will blossom, with Nolan expected to be the experienced head in the pairing at age 23.
Behind him and his 18-year-old partner is the veteran keeper Jamie MacDonald, while Ross Millen and Liam Dick add experience on either side.
Happy with defensive options
Ian Murray appears to be content with his backline for now and it is likely Dick and Scott Brown will provide cover until Tom Lang is back from injury.
The Raith boss said he is looking to add another striker and an out-and-out winger – in what has been a tough transfer window – and it no surprise why.
Rovers have failed to score but have an xG – which analyses how many goals a team should score based on the quality of their chances – of almost 3.
Keeping the ball is not an issue either.
The three players with the most passes in the Scottish Championship so far are Brown, Nolan and Dick. Millen is eighth.
Brown, along with Ethan Ross and Aidan Connolly are among the highest for passing accuracy.
Only Partick Thistle have had more average possession.
Getting ball into the box
On top of this, only Ayr United have taken more shots and crosses than Murray’s side – and Rovers have the highest crossing accuracy in the league.
They are also joint-second for touches in the opposition area, second to Morton.
All of which shows Raith are a side good in possession, creating opportunities.
At Cove they twice struck the woodwork, while Kyle Connell – the third debutant to be thrown in hours after signing – was clearly a little rusty for his chances.
There were also opportunities versus Dundee, not least when Jamie Gullan agonisingly missed Connolly’s cross.
Gullan’s chance:
Livi-lite?
Morton will provide stubborn opposition on Saturday. They have started both Championship matches in a 4-2-3-1 but switched a few times in the victory over Cove.
This included a move to a back three to protect their lead.
They will be comfortable letting Raith have the ball and absolutely love defending their penalty area.
Despite that, the above statistic about touches in the opposition area shows Morton’s ability to cause issues at the other end – and in Jai Quitongo they have a ball carrier.
Manager Dougie Imrie spent time as a coach at Livingston under David Martindale and his Morton side is clearly bears its influence.
Raith’s cutting edge – lacking so far – will be resolutely tested once again this weekend.
There are signs to suggest that things will come good for Rovers but there is only so long you can get away with creating and not scoring goals.
Conversation