Dylan Easton is confident Raith Rovers are on the right track under new boss Neill Collins, despite a draw with Hamilton Accies that “felt like a loss”.
The impressive Stark’s Park side were dominant as they bounced back from Kevin O’Hara’s penalty, conceded after just 28 seconds, to surge to a deserved 3-1 lead.
Lewis Stevenson arrowed a sensational shot into the top corner in the 15th minute and Easton brilliantly set up Hearts loanee Finlay Pollock – on early for the injured Lewis Vaughan – for a debut goal.
When Easton then added a simple third and went agonisingly close on two other occasions, the three points seemed assured.
But a deflected looping effort from Accies’ on-loan St Johnstone midfielder Connor Smith gave them hope and Oli Shaw hooked in a scrambled 94th-minute leveller for the Lanarkshire men.
“It feels like a loss,” admitted Easton. “It’s probably the best we’ve played in a long time.
“I thought we controlled the full game. We should have had the game out of sight.
“It’s a sore one to take but we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and go again next week.”
Easton: ‘Licence to go and enjoy it’
Raith appeared to have rediscovered their attacking mojo after a limp performance in the Fife derby defeat to Dunfermline eight days previously.
And, with high-flying Falkirk next up, Easton is convinced the hard graft that is being put in during the week will start paying off.
“Those are the things we’ve been working on in training,” he added. “Trying to win the ball high up and playing little triangles and getting overloads and letting our forward players express themselves.
“I think that’s what you can see. The gaffer has given us that freedom and licence to go and enjoy it. And to go and play and play forward, and get after teams.
“I think we saw all of that against Hamilton and I just can’t believe we didn’t win the game.
“It’s exactly the way I want to play as well. The kind of player I am, I want to get on the ball and go and make things happen.
“Not that route one football that you see a lot in the Championship at times.
“It’s only been a short period of time since he (Collins) came in, so hopefully we can build on that performance.
“He said it after the game, if we keep performing like that every week then we’ll win more games than we drop points, and that’s the main thing.”
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