Raith Rovers -V- Inverness CT - Preview

[Kingsmills]

A good result for us in that it keeps us ahead of Partick who's goal difference has taken a bit of a hammering in the last few days.

However, we will be facing opponents on Saturday who are running into some good form and who will have increased confidence.

Having, at last, dragged themselves off the bottom of the table, the Pars will be determined not to return there.

As has been said before, we will have to be on our very best form and fully committed for the entire 90 minutes if we are going to beat Dunfermline for the first time this season and maintain our recent winning run.

[IBM]

Simply another MUST WIN 

[+DoofersDad]

There's certainly no easy games in this division.  On paper, we might be seen to have the easiest run in, but all of the teams in the bottom 5 are fighting for survival and will put the kind of effort in that Dunfermline showed tonight.  Even Morton in 6th place are only 6 points clear of the relegation play-off place.  We just have to be up for it every game.

[Jaggernaut]

If ever we needed another incentive on Saturday, the fixtures couldn't have been kinder to us. Arbroath v Raith and Killie v Partick, all our rivals play each other, so if we can get a win against the Pars, we could be in a very good position for the playoffs. 

[Douglas Mackenzie]

Don't  know why it concerns me that when we finally manage to get a route out of the Championship we usually throw it away. We seem to struggle against the bottom teams in this league and after two lucky scrapes we secured a couple of wins,but let's be honest,in neither game did we flatter.Saturday is a biggie and we better be switched on.

[Kingsmills]

3 minutes ago, Douglas Mackenzie said:

Don't  know why it concerns me that when we finally manage to get a route out of the Championship we usually throw it away. We seem to struggle against the bottom teams in this league and after two lucky scrapes we secured a couple of wins,but let's be honest,in neither game did we flatter.Saturday is a biggie and we better be switched on.

A bit harsh. Yes, our win against Raith was a lucky scrape but our victory over Arbroath was fairly comprehensive and seldom in doubt.

[Jaggernaut]

The match against Dunfermline could be all down to desire in the end. Is their desire to stay in the Championship greater than our desire to get out of it? We usually struggle against the teams in the bottom half of the league, so Saturday is the perfect moment to put that right. Hopefully, after the last two wins, we can have a better attendance at the game, we need to create a cup tie atmosphere. 

[RiG]

11 hours ago, Douglas Mackenzie said:

Seems to be doing well tonight.Hughes  has always had a good knowledge of the game and knows tactics.He did win us a cup at Inverness more than any other recent Manager has managed since. My point is now with three ex ICT players,Hughes is turning it round and if they play on Saturday like they are playing tonight we better be at our best.

They've won 3 games in 2023 and 5 since Hughes took the job on in November. Hardly setting the heather alight.

That said, we've been garbage against Dunfermline, and indeed for most of this season, so despite Hughes' poor record in charge I am not expecting anything from this weekends game. Dunfermline, along with Hamilton, being the only teams we haven't beaten in the league this season.

10 hours ago, Douglas Mackenzie said:

We seem to struggle against the bottom teams in this league and after two lucky scrapes we secured a couple of wins,but let's be honest,in neither game did we flatter.Saturday is a biggie and we better be switched on.

I've been looking at this 1) to see how true it is and 2) because I am sad. Our PPG v top half sides is currently 1.73 compared to 1.33. That's obviously boosted a little bit by recent wins over Arbroath and Raith Rovers. Time to start increasing the PPG v lower half of the tables sides methinks...

[buckett]

16 hours ago, RiG said:

Have you seen how Dunfermline are playing and performing under Hughes?

 

14 hours ago, Douglas Mackenzie said:

Seems to be doing well tonight.Hughes  has always had a good knowledge of the game and knows tactics.He did win us a cup at Inverness more than any other recent Manager has managed since. My point is now with three ex ICT players,Hughes is turning it round and if they play on Saturday like they are playing tonight we better be at our best.

Reminds me of when he took over at Inverness.

Many supporters were complaining about "tippy-tappy" football but some of us could see that something wonderful was being developed.

Automatic promotion for Dunfermline next season I reckon - hopefully we'll already be up!

[Eagle4Caley]

Looks like a nerve-racking run-in for everyone....getting something out of Dunfermline on Saturday sets us up quite well [we need a repeat of the Arbroath game], after that Hamilton [or bogey team this season] are the last game of the season, which might be fortunate

Kilmarnock might be favourites  to go up, by my gosh their run-in is interesting....after Partick on Saturday they have

 

Almost anything can happen in those games!

[Kingsmills]

17 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

The match against Dunfermline could be all down to desire in the end. Is their desire to stay in the Championship greater than our desire to get out of it? We usually struggle against the teams in the bottom half of the league, so Saturday is the perfect moment to put that right. Hopefully, after the last two wins, we can have a better attendance at the game, we need to create a cup tie atmosphere. 

A larger and noisier than usual crowd would certainly help.

If you have friends, family or colleagues who have not been for a while Saturday is the perfect opportunity to encourage them to get back down the Longman.