Raith Rovers are one of the form sides in the Scottish Championship and Sam Stanton is one of the form players in the division.
The Kirkcaldy club sit seventh in the table but the recent run of results has them within touching distance of the pack above.
Stanton has scored four goals in Rovers’ last seven.
This includes his recent strikes in the 1-0 win in Arbroath and the draw away to Inverness.
YESTERDAY'S GOAL | 📽️ @sstanton_11 scored his second goal of the week in Rovers' 1-1 draw against Inverness CT.@RaithTV highlights and Ian Murray's post-match reaction are available here 👇https://t.co/ZbzgRtrdfM#IMaRover pic.twitter.com/xYllORhMm0
— Raith Rovers Football Club (@RaithRovers) October 23, 2022
Courier Sport has a closer look at the midfielder’s season so far.
Position
An intelligent footballer that could play almost anywhere, Stanton has thrived since being pushed forward into the No 10 role.
A tough Premier Sports Cup campaign saw him and Scott Brown finish a match in central defence together.
Since defenders were signed and Brown captained and moved into midfield it has been a different Raith Rovers team.
Stanton began to thrive with Brown alongside him but has taken it up another level or two since Brad Spencer came in and allowed him more freedom.
He also now has Colin Cameron, a master of that position, coaching him.
Goal involvement
Four league goals for the season is the same as seasoned striker Billy Mckay – whose side sits top of the league.
It is also the same as Dundee duo Zach Robinson and Zak Rudden, and Partick Thistle’s Anton Dowds.
Stanton is one goal behind two other proven goalscorers in Simon Murray and Brian Graham.
The 28-year-old is just out-performing his xG of 3.3, according to Wyscout.
For comparison, team-mate Kyle Connell’s is 3.46 and he has one goal.
Queen’s Park striker Murray’s is 8.69.
On top of his goals, Stanton almost scored a contender for Raith’s goal of the season in the early stages of the defeat to Queen’s Park.
Stanton hits the post versus Queen’s Park:
He was also involved in the build-up for Liam Dick’s goal versus Morton and Dylan Easton’s at Hamilton – feeding the ball to Aidan Connolly for both assists.
Creativity
Stanton’s passing numbers in the Scottish Championship aren’t too bad either and the stats that stand out relate to his “smart passes”.
These are defined by Wyscout as a “creative and penetrative pass that attempts to break the opposition’s defensive lines to gain a significant advantage in attack”.
Basically, a through ball.
As you can see from the graphic below, the 28-year-old scores high in the total number as well as accuracy.
As well as this, Stanton has one the highest dribbling success rates; his team-mate Dylan Easton’s is even higher.
Finishing
Ian Murray recently described Stanton as “almost horizontal” after watching him coolly slot past Derek Gaston to win the match at Gayfield.
Stanton scores versus Arbroath:
The former Dundee United and Hibernian midfielder paradoxically possesses incredible stamina –
This was evidenced as the first half versus Ayr entered its latter stages when he raced beyond the ball to collect the ball and finish:
Stanton scores versus Ayr:
On Saturday he jogged over a similar distance to put his side ahead versus Inverness.
However he gets there it is well-timed and his finishing is composed – passing it beyond the keeper as if finding the feet of a team-mate.
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