The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Smith refuses to hang anyone out to dry
RAITH ROVERS: Players have to up game again, says boss
Raith Rovers boss Barry Smith refused to point blame at his blundering goalkeeper as the Kirkcaldy side relinquished their unbeaten start to the League One season at Cliftonhill.
Experienced stopper Graeme Smith was at fault for Albion Rovers’ first half opener when he was caught trying to dribble his way past Alan Trouten, who then had the simple task of rolling the ball into the unguarded net.
It was a costly error that the Kirkcaldy side failed to recover from as they crashed to a 2-1 defeat that saw their lead at the top of the table cut in half from six to three points.
“We told the boys not to take chances,” manager Smith said.
“But for as much as Graeme’s made that mistake, there were a lot of mistakes before and after it all over the park, so we’re not going to hang anybody out to dry.
“The boys know they’ve set high standards, and when you fall below it, you get disappointed and get results like that.
“They know they have to up their game again.”
It was Rovers first defeat in eight league games and Smith acknowledged that the poor performance was uncharacteristic of his side.
“The boys have been brilliant since I came in,” he added.
“It’s one of those games where the boys know they fell below the standards they’ve set, but it’s one game in eight in the league so, as much as we’re disappointed, we can look back and say we’ve done well up to this point.”
With Scott Robertson added to Raith’s growing injury list, teenager Dave Mckay was handed only his second start in the heart of defence while Dario Zanatta replaced Greig Spence up front.
Raith’s best chance came via a mistake in the Albion defence as Zanatta pounced on a loose touch by Daniel Lightbody to go through on goal but his effort lacked power and was finger-tipped wide by keeper Graham Bowman.
At the other end, Sean Higgins saw a header saved by Smith before Albion’s gift-wrapped opener arrived six minutes before the break.
Smith collected a pass-back and had time to clear the danger but his attempts to side-step Trouten proved disastrous as the striker pinched the ball and stroked it over the line.
Raith responded by introducing Spence at half-time, who saw a close range effort saved by Bowman after good work by Liam Buchanan, but the Kirkcaldy side were second best all over the park and Albion deservedly extended their lead with seven minutes left.
The Fifers failed to close down striker Connor Shields as he curled a superb finish beyond Smith.
Spence threw Raith a lifeline, nodding home fellow sub Jonny Court’s knock-down in the 87th minute, but the damage had been done.