Raith Rovers warmed up for the new season with a narrow victory against Inverness Caley Thistle.
The Stark’s Park side ratcheted up their preparations following friendlies against East Fife and Montrose.
But they could not find a way past their League One-bound visitors from the Highlands until the 86th minute when summer signing Paul Hanlon knocked in from point-blank range.
Sam Stanton saw a fierce drive slip over and Dylan Easton struck the post in the second-half.
And, with 11 minutes remaining, referee Kevin Clancy intervened to deny Aidan Connolly the opener following a goalmouth scramble.
Team news and tactics
As their final public friendly before the Premier Sports Cup kick-off next weekend, there was no surprise to see manager Ian Murray go with a strong starting XI.
Four summer signings were in place for kick-off in a selection that could very well be mirrored next Saturday in the cup away to Stirling Albion.
Kieran Freeman, formerly of Dundee United, slotted in at right-back and was joined by ex-Hibernian duo Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson.
The fourth ‘fresh face’ was Shaun Byrne, playing as a fully-fledged Raith player after turning last season’s loan from Dundee into a permanent move.
As ever with Raith, the formation was fluid in front of a back four but looked to slot into a 4-2-3-1 with skipper Scott Brown and Byrne the deepest lying of the midfielders.
Josh Mullin, Sam Stanton and Dylan Easton then supported Jack Hamilton at the apex of the attack.
Capital connection
After two warm-up games on the road, this was the first opportunity for the Raith fans to cast their eye over the new recruits.
Hanlon and Stevenson bring a wealth of experience with them across the Forth from Hibs, having played almost 1,200 first-team games between them.
Both left-footed, they also add to balance to a rearguard that was breached too often last term.
Rovers’ 42 goals against in the Championship was almost double that of champions Dundee United, who only conceded 23 times.
Composed on the ball, Hanlon also adds aerial presence to a defence that was susceptible to balls into their own box in 2023/24.
The 34-year-old also proved himself a danger in the opposition box on a couple of occasions, and should probably have scored with a header six minutes after the break before getting his goal late on.
To his left, even at 36 years old, the evergreen Stevenson was a bundle of energy getting up and down the wing as he made his first home appearance in the colours of his hometown team.
New in blue
On the opposite flank, Freeman was ever willing to burst forward from his right-back berth.
Full-back is an important position in Raith’s formation and the 24-year-old gave plenty of indications he can slot in seamlessly where James Brown and Ross Millen trod last season.
He could have marked his home debut with a goal but blazed wildly over midway through the second-half.
Rovers have announced a closed-door meeting with Annan Athletic on Tuesday to help boost fitness.
It meant there was less of a need to give game-time to those who did not start against Inverness.
But Lewis Gibson and Kai Montagu entered the fray with 19 minutes remaining and instantly caught the eye.
Montagu went hunting for touches of the ball as soon as he came on in the number ten role and was denied a goal by a smart save from Inverness’ on-loan Dundee United keeper Jack Newman.
Gibson hugged the left touchline like an old-fashioned winger and one fantastic set-piece delivery deserved better than no touches on its way through.
Teams
Raith (4-2-3-1): Dabrowski; Freeman, Murray, Hanlon, Stevenson (Hannah 86); Brown, Byrne (Matthews 57); Mullin (Connolly 71), Stanton (Montagu 71), Easton (Gibson 71); Hamilton (Smith 57). Subs not used: McNeil, Fordyce, Trialist.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.
