Robert

Zanatta. He knew he had the beating of Carson, particularly during Raith’s strong spell early in the second half. We seemed to be pushing Walsh further forward so Carson had less protection than earlier in the game. I was surprised when Raith hooked him, but it gave some of our fans the chance to boo his replacement, Keatings.

I agree. We only had one defender on the bench today, Harper, with no sign of Duffy.

I enjoyed the game and great to get the result, with a goal fitting of winning any match. A bullet finish by MacGregor after Duku laid it off to him. Good to get a clean sheet but we had some troubling moments, often self inflicted, which was how Devine and Ridgers got their bookings. Ridgers could have got a red with a different ref. A lot to be positive about but we were not dominant and Raith’s pacy players caused some problems, particularly early in the second half. Duku clearly enjoyed noising up his former employer and incurring the wrath of the noisy away support, and was probably our top player. With no cup game next week, hopefully they can use the time to tighten things up so we keep the ball better, and then we have Ayr at home which should be winnable. After the cup games, it is great to be off and flying in the league.

Presumably we can recall Fyffe if needed. The game time should do him good, but we are short of cover if one of Broadfoot, Devine or Deas gets injured.

Don’t know, but you can buy tickets at the ground before kick off so that may be an option for you. Given they are advertising them, they ought to be available.

The biggest frustration for me is the poor communication that we get. If there are six e-mail addresses that cannot help. Most businesses have one primary address for customers (eg info@whatever.co.uk) which they prioritise monitoring and responding to. Live chat functions on websites, between published hours, is becoming common and could be a good option as it can be less labour intensive. It needs to be someone’s responsibility to monitor and reply to social channels and e-mails in a timely manner and they should publish service levels that they are seeking to achieve (eg reply within one working day), and send an acknowledgement if they will be unable to achieve that (they could even automate it so customers get an automatic acknowledgement so know the e-mail is being actioned). Regular, proactive updates from the Chairman or CEO would be welcome. This could take the form of a monthly bulletin circulated on social channels and on the website. This should be augmented by updates when anything of note happens (signings etc). Too often we get a burst of activity at season ticket renewal time then little for months. Each time we have had a new Chairman we get promises that communication will be improved. Now is an opportunity to actually achieve that. The club knows it is an issue, and that it is important to fans, so they should sort it. I welcome the Focus Group and hope it helps to deliver improvements, but visibility of the issues discussed and how they are followed through will be vital.

There’s an updated post about tomorrow’s match, with the catering arrangements but no mention of face coverings: https://ictfc.com/matchday-info-raith-rovers-h

Jack Brown for Rothes in the North of Scotland cup yesterday, and substitute Ryan Christie for Celtic in the Europa League today.

Montrose @ 1.57 please.

HT 1-0 FT 2-1 ICT Duku Raith Poplatnik

PPV details for anyone interested: https://ictfc.com/ictv-info-raith-rovers-h

Sounds a positive session. Could anyone present provide any more detail? https://ictfc.com/ictfc-fans-focus-group-launches

Liam Polworth has scored for Kilmarnock in the Ayrshire derby tonight.

Agreed. Also on line here: https://ictfc.com/season-ticket-2021-22-how-to-access-ictv I also got an e-mail with the arrangements for Saturday’s game. 2000 allowed, non allocated but socially distanced seating, face coverings required. Main stand season ticket holders in main stand, north stand ones in north stand, and south stand available for non season ticket holders. Hopefully by the following game we are back in our own seats. Details also here on the website: there will also be away fans in the south stand: https://ictfc.com/match-information-raith-rovers-h

Jonny Hayes scored for Aberdeen today.

Shane’s goal now on line: https://ictfc.com/post-match-arbroath-0-1-ictfc-31-07-2021 It was very helpful that the Arbroath player ensured Duku’s pass made it to Shane!! The goal highlights what we can do when we move it quickly, and it was very well taken by Sutherland. Strangely the livestream was from the other side of the pitch.

Arbroath have posted this report which I can’t argue with: https://www.arbroathfc.co.uk/arbroath-0-1-inverness-caledonian-thistle/

Today Toddy for Dunfermline, McAllister for Cove and Kieran Chalmers for Strathspey.

I agree. He was tough to handle and made Devine look tiny!

I like Harper and am sure he will be a great player for us. However, Deas seems to have greater presence and confidence, and seems to handle attacking players better. It was interesting that McCann played Harper in midfield when he got game time at the end of last season, and that was where he played when he came on today. We like our full backs to push forward, and as we play four at the back it can leave them exposed unless they read the game really well. I think Harper just needs more experience.

Not our best performance but great to start with a win. Watching the livestream is not ideal for forming opinions on the players but here goes: Ridgers had a few squeaky bum moments when he fumbled the ball, but also some good saves. He was arguably lucky not to concede a penalty when he demolished a player to get to the loose ball. Carson was solid but not as influential going forward as he can be. Broadfoot was captain and vocal at the back. He and Devine found Nouble a real handful and Broadfoot was walking a tightrope after getting booked. Distribution by both Broadfoot and Devine tended to be long high balls resulting in us not keeping possession. Deas was solid enough at left back and got forward a few times. Allardice and McAlear both worked hard, but too often were bypassed in our play. McAlear looks like he could be a real asset for us. Walsh was the pick of the first half but was hardly seen after the break. If he can sharpen up his crosses he will be very influential this season. MacGregor was very quiet playing mainly right midfield. He did have one good break and set Duku up but his headed goal was from an offside position. Sutherland took his goal really well. It was really a solo effort after loose play by Arbroath in midfield. He came close in the first half when Arbroath managed to clear an effort off the line. My MOM today. Duku was putting himself about but didn’t really have any chances bar the disallowed goal. The substitutions were strange as we ended up with Harper playing left midfield and Sutherland playing right midfield. It really was frantic defending for the last 20 minutes but credit them for keeping Arbroath out. I think Arbroath will feel aggrieved at the referee, as they had a few penalty claims and arguably Broadfoot could have been sent off for a challenge on Nouble after he had been booked. At times we looked pretty good, particularly when we moved the ball quickly and when Walsh was influential, but we played far too many long balls and kept being caught offside. This is our first away win against Arbroath since they came up to the Championship, so hopefully a sign of progress. We will get a better idea of how we are developing against Raith next weekend.

Good to start with a win. Probably not really deserved but we will all take it! Backs to the wall defending after Sutherland’s goal. Arbroath caused us a few problems but the result is what counts.

Hyde on for Duku in last minute.

Mckay on for MacGregor now.

Harper on for Walsh, and playing left midfield. Living a bit dangerously just now.