A fascinating Fife derby ended with Raith Rovers recording an impressive win at the home of their rivals Dunfermline Athletic.
Sam Stanton scored the only goal of the game during a first half in which Dunfermline looked the more likely to score.
Rovers defended heroically after the break – and almost had a second through Stanton – to maintain their unbeaten start to the league season, taking seven points from a possible nine.
It was a sore one for the Pars, who have otherwise started the season well and will look to do some business between now and the end of the transfer window this week.
Good morning Rovers fans.
Have a great Sunday. 😀 pic.twitter.com/2lOZ7GZEQL
— Raith Rovers Football Club (@RaithRovers) August 27, 2023
Courier Sport looks at the talking points from Raith’s 1-0 win at East End Park on Saturday.
DAFC boss still taking a ‘horses for courses’ approach
He may have more or less settled on a back three after switching between that and a four last season, but that doesn’t stop James McPake from making changes to the side each week if required.
Now that the squad is starting to fill out, there are options – enhanced further when Kane Ritchie-Hosler returns in the coming weeks.
Chris Hamilton was unlucky to find himself on the bench after his showing at Tannadice and Ewan Otoo was preferred in midfield.
Dunfermline enjoyed a lot of possession but their manager was unhappy with how they made use of it in the first half.
DAFC lacking firepower
When they did make better use of the ball, they were then just lacking that bit of quality in attack.
Nikolay Todorov left the club in the summer and the club are yet to bring in a replacement, though Courier Sport exclusively revealed after Saturday’s game that Alex Jakubiak is attracting the club’s interest.
In a different mould from Todorov, the free agent would be an exciting addition to the attack after he scored 10 goals for Dundee on their way to the Championship title last season.
When eventually paired in attack with Zach Robinson, the duo were a huge part of why the Dens Park Club are now in the Premiership.
A more direct Raith Rovers on the road
Ian Murray has also shown some flexibility – after bedding in his 4-1-3-2 formation, the Rovers manager has switched it up for two difficult away matches over the last two weeks.
With Scott Brown back available and ex-Par Shaun Byrne on board, the Rovers boss has been afforded the ability to go with two holding midfielders.
They performed well at Hibs, though ultimately didn’t get the result, and took that into Saturday’s win.
We’re seeing a more cautious and more direct Raith away from home and their manager was impressed with how they achieved their first clean sheet in six.
Raith Rovers’ set-piece improvement evident against Dunfermline in Fife derby
Courier Sport has have pointed out a number of areas already this season where a ‘different’ Rovers are in evidence.
This is another result they perhaps wouldn’t have achieved last season – it’s certainly debatable whether they would have withstood so many opposition set-pieces.
The week before, Raith conceded 11 corners to Hibs and let in a goal from one. On Saturday they faced 12 Pars corners and managed to withstand each one.
There were also crucial blocks – Euan Murray had to leave the field injured after one late in the game – and Kevin Dabrowski made two terrific reflex saves, though one did come after the assistant had raised his flag.
The players and manager are still dampening expectations at this early stage in the season but there is momentum building.
