Raith Against The Machine

Ayr have had applied more pressure in the final third in the ten minutes since half time than they did in the whole of the first half. Connolly and Ross have dropped right out of it, we can't get the ball beyond the halfway line anymore.

At a couple of points there we had so many bodies forward getting so much space that our passing triangles became passing pentangles. We weren't exactly peppering the goal, but there was so much sustained pressure, and Tumilty hit the bar too. Probably should've forced at least one more, on that basis. Ayr did have a couple of breaks and might've snuck one in, so we'll need to be very careful. A lot about this game so far has been reminiscent of the Hamilton game, but let's hope we don't get a similar finish.

I don't know if the highlights will start far enough back for Zanatta's goal, but Tait stepped past Andy Murdoch in midfield, and Murdoch barely ambled back as Tait went 30 yards unchallenged. When that's the captain, it seems pretty clear Ayr just don't fancy it today.

This has been men against boys so far. Ayr have barely touched the ball.

Someone should really be running a cap down to Jamie MacDonald.

Unchanged from Tuesday, but pleasantly surprises to see Varian back on the bench. Gives us another dimension if we need to change things. Despite generally looking quite solid, we've conceded in our last seven games, so a clean sheet would be very welcome today.

Right we've all had a good laugh, but I'm not having the c**t from Biffy Clyro being stacked ahead of Stuart Adamson, for f**k sake.

Yup. Can't recall him until the window re-opens. It's Poplatnik, Zanatta and Mitchell for the foreseeable.

I see the Fife Free Press have decided today's the day to run with the "breaking news" that the Rovers will play Caley Thistle in the Challenge Cup, a draw that was made on... *checks notes* ...Wednesday 7 July. If you want to be charitable, we didn't technically know we'd definitely be playing Inverness until we beat East Fife and they beat Elgin on... Saturday 9 October. Breaking news, indeed.

I see you're not familiar with the bass player (?) from Coldplay...

A top ten and it doesn't feature Rangers? Jimmy's credibility is in bits.

The suspensions list should be out tomorrow so we'll find out for sure, but Ryan Porteous got an immediate two match ban for his red card at Ibrox, which was pretty much the same situation as Matthews, so I'd say you're correct.

Oh and before I come across as Chief Inspector of the fun police, people spilling onto the pitch is good patter and should be encouraged in all circumstances. Also, people offering each other square goes from over a polisman's shoulder, that they know won't ever come to fruition - very funny, more of that too please.

Proper weirdo behaviour, that. Presumably that's had to have come from like a school rumour or something, because I'm not aware of anything remotely public. One of a number of lines crossed last night, it seems. Hopefully we're seeing a sort of shameful last hurrah for this "sex offender/paedo" patter which has been around for decades but has absolutely no place in 2021. As for songs about Norrie McCathie or a certain word aimed at John McGlynn which I won't repeat... It's shameful, it really is. Totally unnecessary, too. It's not like that aren't three hundred other things to have a dig at the other side for, without getting into this miserable "material".

Armstrong is the very definition of a mercurial winger, for this level. It's a cliché, but it often felt like you could tell how he'd get on in game based on the first thing he did. When his tail is up he's more than comfortable going either inside or outside his full back, and there are times when you'd struggle to tell which is his stronger foot. Equally, though, some games it just seems like his range is off and every time he tries to play a ball more than ten yards it veers wildly away from its intended target, and he really needs sat down, recalibrated and tried again the next Saturday. I don't know that he'll ever really find true consistency, not at Championship level or above. If anything, I think you could clip his wings and he'd lose that spark that makes him so dangerous. He's best utilised when he can go out and play, and the other players around him can get by even if he doesn't perform perfectly for 90 minutes. It's a big ask, and pretty much why he never got a look in at Ross County, but if you can afford it, he pays dividends more often than not.

Yaya Toure probably would've gotten out to that, imo.

I thought he was quite poor, by his own standards, to be quite honest with you. There is a mitigating factor in that every other game this season he's played in the attacking midfield three but had been asked to play from the base of midfield tonight, and there's obviously an adjustment there, especially with how much emphasis McGlynn puts on his holding midfielders coming deep to start attacks. Compared to Spencer alongside him though, I thought he was a half second slower in turning, looking and playing his passes. He was still managing to contribute and didn't have a nightmare by any stretch of the imagination, but he wasn't as fluid as he can be.

I'm going to petition the SPFL to instigate VAR checks after every goal, for the sole purpose of determining just how much fans are allowed to celebrate it.

Also, before it predictably begins, sneering at fans celebrating a last minute equaliser is v small-time behaviour. Edit: Or after it begins, whatever. Late goals are fun, that's the way football works.

That was fun. A good point given the injuries we've got, and great to come back like that having had to put on a teenager and a defensive midfielder as our only options. As I said earlier, take Dom Thomas out that Pars team tonight and they offered nothing. Warranted - and won - a point on his own.

Dom Thomas has been the best player on the park by an order of magnitudes, and Liam Dick had been the worst. That's the difference.

Just too many having off days, and we've not got anyone to change it. Perils of a thin squad, really. If we'd scored in the first half, I think we probably would've seen this out fairly comfortably.

We've moved Zanatta up front and gone from one striker we can't get into the game to two strikers we can't get into the game.

The Rovers are doing that panicky thing where they try to do all the stuff they do when they're playing well, but executing it really badly. Need something out of nowhere just to knock them back into rhythm.

Burst nose for Ethan Ross?