Raith Rovers’ defender hopes defeat is just another blip

Manager Hughes says side are unable to perform consistently

Raith Rovers were brought crashing back down to earth after the midweek high of beating St Mirren as Dumbarton jumped above them in the race for Championship survival with this thumping win.

Wednesday night’s victory over the Paisley men ended an 18-game wait for a win and the Stark’s Park players had been challenged to build on it by manager John Hughes.

But they came up woefully short and defender Craig Barr was left perplexed, saying: “That was really disappointing.

“We felt we had turned a corner on Wednesday with a good performance, but that was not good enough.

“There are no exceptions from that, it was not good enough.

“We have got to get our heads down and work very hard. We cannot hide and we need to stand up and start getting results whether it is to earn a new contract or whether you are playing for your kids.

“We know that we are letting the fans and the club down. “We are trying to rectify things. “There was a weight off our shoulders by winning in midweek and I thought we would go back to the way we were playing at the start of the season.

“I am hoping that this is just a minor blip.”

Former Brechin City striker Robert Thomson was in the right place at the right time to flick in Calum Gallagher’s cross after just six minutes to open the scoring.

Raith enjoyed their best period of the game after Thomson’s goal, and JeanYves M’voto was denied an equaliser when Alan Martin produced a great stop to keep out the Frenchman’s header with the shot-stopper also blocking Kyle Benedictus’s follow-up effort.

Barr said: “It could have been different if we had scored then, but that sums up our luck.

“We need to handle things like that, and if their goalkeeper makes a good save you go and make him do another one and another until you score.”

Thomson grabbed his second just before the break when he thumped home an Andrew Stirling corner at the far post, and the game was out of Raith’s reach within two minutes of the restart.

The impressive Sam Stanton beat two men and released Thomson on the left before darting into the box and hooking his team-mate’s cross home.

Substitute Garry Fleming rubbed salt into Kirkcaldy wounds when he danced around two defenders in injury time before firing past Pavol Penksa.

Barr added: “We need to start grinding wins out. If we need to win ugly then we need to win ugly.”

Raith boss Hughes said: “We were well beaten and Dumbarton did to us what we did to St Mirren.

“It was a test of character and we never came up with the goods. We cannot perform consistently and that is a sad thing to say but that is it in a nutshell.

“I asked them to do the fundamentals and battle away but we never came up with the goods for a second game and that is disappointing.

“You cannot turn things on and off like a tap.”

Dumbarton manager Stevie Aitken said: “You can never count your chickens but we have put ourselves in a good position.”

It was a test of character and we never came up with the goods. JOHN HUGHES

Picture: SNS. Craig Barr said the defeat by Dumbarton was especially disappointing as Raith felt they had turned a corner on Wednesday with a good performance against St Mirren.