Raith Rovers have played better football across 90 minutes than in their recent win over Motherwell, according to defender Liam Dick.
The 27-year-old said it is down to the improvements the side have made when it comes to managing games.
Last weekend’s 3-1 win in the Scottish Cup fifth round was a case in point, recovering from conceding early in the second half to restore their two-goal lead through debutant Isma Goncalves – setting up a trip to Ibrox in the quarter-final.
A few days before they were dead on their feet versus Dundee in the SPFL Trust Trophy before dragging themselves back from 2-0 down with 12 minutes to go.
Ross County loanee William Akio was the man to spark the comeback that night and missed Saturday’s win due to being cup-tied.
Buzzing
“Willy has come in and I’m delighted for him,” Dick told Courier Sport.
“He got his goal against Dundee. Same with Isma [versus Mothewrwell].
“That’s brilliant because it brings a good vibe and they’re excited and they’re buzzing.”
Hearts’ Scott McGill also came in on loan recently but has had to be patient due to being cup-tied for both of those recent cup wins.
Ian Murray says Raith Rovers must beat Queen’s Park if they are to ‘reel in’ Scottish Championship rivals https://t.co/5U4l3Ejlqq pic.twitter.com/7kVZiSHseZ
— The Courier Sport (@thecouriersport) February 16, 2023
“I know that since Scotty’s come in he’s had to bide his time,” added Dick, “but even in training he looks great and he’s integrated with the boys really well.”
Dick is slightly disappointed with one too many draws in Rovers’ current 12-match unbeaten run, but can’t complain too much.
The recent reactions to adversity, the sustained good performances and the amount of the games they control are all aspects of Rovers’ game the 27-year-old admires though.
Never giving up
“The heads don’t go down, the boys tell each other ‘we’re not chucking the towel in’,” said Dick. “It never happens.
“You can see from the stats from the sports scientists, the numbers are always there, we’ve never had a game where you look at numbers and think ‘they’re not trying’.
“There’s a cohesion throughout the team.
“Against Motherwell we played some really good football. We won the game but I’ve actually seen us play better. But that is the way we want to play, we don’t want to just launch the ball, but we also know we can do that if we need to add that to our game.
“Everybody’s in a good place at the moment. Friday night, there’s 10 points in it between us and Queen’s Park. You can get that down to seven with a win on Friday.”
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