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I’d have taken 1-1 before kick off and then when Raith took the lead. Credit the players for getting back into it and a draw was a fair result. It was quite a scrappy game, particularly the first half. Broadfoot was booked in only 50 seconds and the only chance I recall was a Welsh free kick that nearly went over the stand. Neither ‘keeper was tested. The pitch seemed slippery and was not helping with players losing their footing a few times, notably Mckay and MacGregor. So much for plastic surfaces! The sending off worried me as I thought it would galvanise Raith and, after we started the second half brightly, they got their goal from a cross from Zanatta. It was the only time he got the better of Duffy all game and the scorer got between our defenders to give Ridgers no chance. After that, I thought we would struggle to break them down, but we had our best spell and got a deserved equaliser when the ball fell to Welsh about 20 yards out and he finished well. It is good to be top, and we matched up to Raith well, but it was a game we could have won. However in past seasons we would have probably lost it, so in my book a point gained. We now need to keep our 100% home record going against Arbroath on Tuesday and then we have Partick away which will be another big test.

Not disagreeing, but Raith maintained good defensive discipline in the second half, and we were as aimless and toothless as ever. Going down to 10 men rarely makes the difference that everyone expects, unless the team folds completely.

We were lucky not to lose that today. I felt we had a lot of the ball in the first half but we created nothing of any note whatsoever. Raith didn't really do much but they at least managed a shot on goal when Connolly (I think) cracked an effort goalwards but it was deflected wide. That genuinely might have been the first shot of the game and that was around the 40 minute mark. I missed the red card so I can't really comment on it. Raith are pretty good at getting the highlights out quickly so I guess it will be cleared up pretty quickly. I couldn't seem to figure out what our line up was. Seemed that Sutherland was playing wide right with Gardyne left and Welsh, Allardice and MacGregror all moving around the middle of the pitch taking it in turns to push forward to support Mckay. Second half I feel we regressed a lot. Raith seemed the more capable team despite playing a man down. Again, I struggle to think of anything of note we created before Raith did take the lead bar an curled effort by Sutherland which was sent just wide of the post. The Raith goal was from a lovely run by Zannatta, nice cut back and a smashing finish by Connolly. Although we got back into it after good work down the left side by Gardyne and a well struck effort from Welsh Raith had the best chance to win it when Zannatta found space but, like Sutherland, he failed to wrap his foot around the shot enough to get it on target. Gardyne appeared to play more centrally and almost looked like he had been given a free role to go wherever he wanted. When Doran came on our structure seemed to totally collapse and we played so narrow it was very strange to see. I thought we would have tried to stretch the Raith backline and have Doran or Gardyne attempt to pull players out of position but it never seemed to happen. I'm a wee bit worried that we are consistently not playing very well. We've only had one really good 45 minutes of football this season and that was the second half against Partick. We had a lot of the ball today and created hee haw with it and Raith, despite only having ten men, should probably have won the game. If we want to seriously challenge for the title we need to improve. a lot. On another note Jamie MacDonald is absolutely brilliant. A good keeper and, as always, he took the gentle ribbing we always give him very well. A top guy.

Having dropped points today, it's important that we get back to winning ways against Arbroath at home on Tuesday.

On one view, a point away from home against the current form team in the league could have been a decent result. However, our second failure this season to capitalise on a numerical advantage is very disappointing indeed, especially as today's faiure enabled Kilmarnock to close the gap on us. The five points squandered against ten man Hamilton Accies and ten man Raith Rovers could well prove to be the difference between gaining promotion this season or not. That's not good enough.

The Raith commentators were really good, as always, and I did like their taking the mickey out of the referee. "Take 30 lines. "I must not backchat to the referee". Before the start of the second half!"

6 in 9 matches apparently. Saw him referred to by one of their fans as Ryan Assistie!

Problem with googling 'Top 5' of anything like VPN (or hosting) is that the various providers typically setup multiple sites where their product comes out on top ... or at least gets a great review. CNET or other independent sites are a good indicator. For VPN, the ones that work tend to have a cost.

Shinnie for Derby's winner whilst Ryan is supplying assists for Bournemouth's promotion push.

Raith we’re really sloppy in the first half and looked a really poor team. The red card and the HT team talk seemed to galvanise them and they played better afterwards.

Didn't see the match but cannot agree with your assumption that playing against 10 men and not winning isn't good enough. It is not always the advantage people think it is if the other team is well organised which both Raith and Hamilton were against us. Hamilton were also 2 goals up when their player was sent off. Its a different story if the team with eleven men score first as then you usually see them winning but it isn't always the advantage some people think it is.

Still top of the league getting used to saying that. Long may it continue

...seriously. time to wake up.

Terrific. Run after the ball and leave an attacker on his own just outside the 6-yard box. Get a grip, FFS.

Kevin McHattie has joined Brechin.

Another top two battle It's a biggy this weekend as we travel to Kirkaldy to take on second place Raith Rovers at Starks Park on Saturday. Standard 3:00pm kick-off in this one which could be a massive indicator as to the outcome of this campaign. John McGlynn has slowly assembled a squad very capable of challenging for the Championship title and I expect Raith to be in the mix come the end of the season. Raith are in fine form at the moment after a sluggish start to their season. Recent wins over Arbroath, Kilmarnock, Partick, Morton and Queen of the South have catapulted them into second place, five points behind Inverness. They are the form team over the last five games with four wins and a draw. OFFICIAL PREVIEW MATCH INFO RAITH MATCH INFO ARBROATH PPV RAITH TV £14 SUPPORTERS BUS LEAVES STADIUM 10:00 Venue - Head 2 Head Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 17 13 2 2 36 13 +23 Away 13 7 3 3 26 16 +10 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 30 20 5 5 62 29 +33 First Competitive Meeting Sep 25th, 1999 League (H) 0 - 2 Most Recent Competitive Meeting Aug 7th, 2021 League (Championship) (H) 1 - 0 Last 10 Competitive Meetings 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 3 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 4 - 3 (H) 4 - 0 (A) Biggest Victories Jan 12th, 2002 League (H) 5 - 0 Heaviest Defeats Aug 26th, 2000 League (A) 1 - 4 Highest Attendance Apr 3rd, 2010 League (H) 3,562 Highest Home Attendance Apr 3rd, 2010 League (H) 3,562 Pld W D L F A +/- Pts 1. Inverness CT 9 7 1 1 12 4 8 22 2. Raith Rovers 9 5 2 2 16 11 5 17 3. Kilmarnock 9 5 2 2 11 6 5 17 4. Partick Thistle 9 5 0 4 23 14 9 15 5. Arbroath 9 4 3 2 17 8 9 15 6. Ayr United 9 3 2 4 9 13 -4 11 7. Queen of the South 9 3 0 6 10 14 -4 9 8. Hamilton Academical 9 2 2 5 9 21 -12 8 9. Morton 9 1 3 5 7 14 -7 6 10. Dunfermline 9 0 5 4 6 15 -9 5 We have a great record overall against Rovers with only five defeats from thirty games. Three of those have come at Starks Park, the most recent was...... erm, as Don McLean said, "A long long time ago, I can still remember how Raith beat us". It was back in the days when buffalo roamed the plains, Delerium were top of the Pops with Silence and flares were still in fashion. Raith won this encounter in Kirkaldy 1 - 4 when we were still finding our feet in the big boys leagues. Surprisingly that was their second last ever victory over the Caley Jags in all competitions over ninety minutes. The last defeat was in the same season almost 21 years ago to this October day. Mind you, they had some great players in their team back then. Other Fixtures all Saturday at 3:00pm Arbroath v Ayr United Kilmarnock v Hamilton Academical Partick Thistle v Dunfermline Queen of the South v Greenock Morton Reminder, we play Arbroath at home on Tuesday 26th October in a full night of fixtures. Kick-Off 7:45pm Last time out Raith beat Arbroath 2-1 in a Championship game at Starks Park. Dylan Tait scored an early goal and they went two up just on the interval when Ross Mathews headed in. Arbroath notched a goal deep into stoppage time but that result was enough to put Rovers into second place in the table. Inverness edged out Morton 2-0 in the Highlands. Billy Mckay and Michael Gardyne scored either side of the break as we extended our lead at the top. It was a not overly convincing performance, but it was another three points in the bag. In the first meeting between the clubs this season, Inverness won thanks to a solitary goal from Roddy MacGregor in a tight affair in the Highlands. And what a goal it was. Boom! Latest Team News David Carson is possibly still absent after a family bereavement. Michael Gardyne was patched up to finish the game against Morton after getting a gash on his head. Manny Duku has still to get off the mark and might find it difficult to dislodge Billy Mckay from the strikers berth, but he will be keen to show his former club he has what it takes to make the grade. It's an artificial surface at Starks Park which might limit some of our options. We are thin at the back and Cammy Harper has a groin injury. James Keatings will not be in the Raith squad as he is on loan at Montrose. Dario Zanatta will be a threat and keeper Jamie MacDonald, Christophe Berra and Kyle Benedictus add plenty of experience to their defence.