Raith Rovers v Dunfermline Athletic

[grumswall]

I'm still baffled that dunfermline essentially settled for the draw. If they had kept chucking bodies forward after the equaliser it would have made an exciting end to the game. I don't think there's much between the teams but it was very obvious the quality that Thomas, Dow etc have. I don't think either of the goals we conceded were massive defensive errors and I'm glad to see musonda looking fairly good so far. If it had been davo chasing ohara then it was probably 3-2 as he just doesn't have the pace. Again though, baffled that dunfermline did just settle for the draw when they were on top for most of the second half up to that point imo.

[smpar]

I'm still baffled that dunfermline essentially settled for the draw. If they had kept chucking bodies forward after the equaliser it would have made an exciting end to the game. I don't think there's much between the teams but it was very obvious the quality that Thomas, Dow etc have. I don't think either of the goals we conceded were massive defensive errors and I'm glad to see musonda looking fairly good so far. If it had been davo chasing ohara then it was probably 3-2 as he just doesn't have the pace. Again though, baffled that dunfermline did just settle for the draw when they were on top for most of the second half up to that point imo.

What makes you think we settled for the draw? We didn’t exactly launch the centre halves forward in desperation but that would have been pretty careless. We were still trying to create chances and get bodies into the box.

[grumswall]

What makes you think we settled for the draw? We didn’t exactly launch the centre halves forward in desperation but that would have been pretty careless. We were still trying to create chances and get bodies into the box.

You were on the front foot in the second half up until the equaliser went in. During that period you did leave gaps at the back while committing the bodies forward, but it was evidently working as we struggled a bit with the pace of your attack. Once the equaliser went in though, you stopped committing as many bodies forward and we looked pretty comfortable bar the ohara/ musonda challenge. It was obviously game management by Crawford and he hasn't exactly ballsed it up in doing that. A point away to your local rivals isn't terrible and I'd probably have been annoyed had we lost the game, but I think at that stage it was there for the taking for you.

[TxRover]

29 minutes ago, grumswall said:

If it had been davo chasing ohara then it was probably 3-2 as he just doesn't have the pace.

I am concerned that Bene looks off the pace too recently. Either has got a niggle we aren’t being told of or perhaps Mendy will be starting soon. Yes, it’s the deep end, but I think our preseason worries about Davo and Bene may be coming to fruition. With as much as they have both meant to the club, it sucks, but...

[parsforlife]

9 minutes ago, grumswall said:

 

 

You were on the front foot in the second half up until the equaliser went in. During that period you did leave gaps at the back while committing the bodies forward, but it was evidently working as we struggled a bit with the pace of your attack. Once the equaliser went in though, you stopped committing as many bodies forward and we looked pretty comfortable bar the ohara/ musonda challenge. It was obviously game management by Crawford and he hasn't exactly ballsed it up in doing that. A point away to your local rivals isn't terrible and I'd probably have been annoyed had we lost the game, but I think at that stage it was there for the taking for you.

 

Taking bigger risks at 2-0 or 2-1 is fairly compared to when you are drawing is normal.  Our midfield did sit a bit deeper, but it wasn’t exactly let’s defend, waste time and take the point here stuff.   Taking the same risks we did when behind would have only be justified had this been and end of season game where a point wouldn’t benefit us.

Edited December 6, 2020 by parsforlife

[foreverarover]

I am concerned that Bene looks off the pace too recently. Either has got a niggle we aren’t being told of or perhaps Mendy will be starting soon. Yes, it’s the deep end, but I think our preseason worries about Davo and Bene may be coming to fruition. With as much as they have both meant to the club, it sucks, but...

I'd be looking to extend the contract of Musonda ASAP.

[TxRover]

2 minutes ago, foreverarover said:

34 minutes ago, TxRover said:

I am concerned that Bene looks off the pace too recently. Either has got a niggle we aren’t being told of or perhaps Mendy will be starting soon. Yes, it’s the deep end, but I think our preseason worries about Davo and Bene may be coming to fruition. With as much as they have both meant to the club, it sucks, but...

I'd be looking to extend the contract of Musonda ASAP.

Strongly agree on Frankie...would consider McKay and Mendy too, but they both still have some question marks. McKay depends on how he returns, Mendy depends on if he keeps improving. Of the two, I'd feel better about McKay by a very small margin, but wouldn't panic if we extended them both. Like to see Hendry extended, Duku would be nice, but not sure we can risk it.

[grumswall]

Taking bigger risks at 2-0 or 2-1 is fairly compared to when you are drawing is normal.  Our midfield did sit a bit deeper, but it wasn’t exactly let’s defend, waste time and take the point here stuff.   Taking the same risks we did when behind would have only be justified had this been and end of season game where a point wouldn’t benefit us.

To make the choice to sit deeper when you have just smashed in an equaliser and have the momentum on your side is the mistake. I would agree its a fair move to make but it does seem like a point was good enough yesterday because of this. I'm not saying go gung ho for the winner at that stage but it went too defensive from a strong position imo.

[Rovers_Lad]

We missed Davo yesterday

[grumswall]

We missed Davo yesterday

At least disguise the bait.

[Rovers_Lad]

No bait,we,ve missed him against Inverness and yesterday

[grumswall]

No bait,we,ve missed him against Inverness and yesterday

Without being there it's hard to tell if we've missed his presence but I don't think he's a better player than musonda. His composure to pass out from the back has been missed though.

[TxRover]

3 hours ago, grumswall said:

3 hours ago, Rovers_Lad said:

No bait,we,ve missed him against Inverness and yesterday

Without being there it's hard to tell if we've missed his presence but I don't think he's a better player than musonda. His composure to pass out from the back has been missed though.

Which is why I’m favoring Mendy now, his passing has been excellent in all the games he’s played, his pace is superior and he’s a more physical player. Yes, he’s still learning, yes he makes the occasional mistake, but I think he must be moved in.

[HoustonRover]

Mendy’s distribution is howling - am I missing something?

[Scottydog]

Davo undeniably has his failings but I thought his  influence was probably a missing factor to some degree both at Inverness and against the Pars. Yes his pace has gone and he makes some glaring errors at times but he times his headers better than any other Raith players, his footwork is second to none (I'd say only Armstrong or Ross comes close) and his reading of the game is better than any other defender at the club.

Bene has lost pace and makes some terrible passes at times, his wayward ball that put Musonda in the shit being a case in point.

Mendy, is improving greatly but his reading of the game and positioning is still poor.

McKay is rated at the club, I thought for a while he wasn't fancied but I think he's now seen as more the future of the centre of our defence.

Musonda is a proper footballer, reads the game quite well, plays intelligent passes and is a goal threat, get him tied down on a longer deal and bulk him up a bit, if he bigger physique he'd be awesome.

Interesting to hear that we'd inquired about Paul Watson in the close season, he'd have been a very good acquisition, as would have been Robbie Deas.

I think the guys we have are adequate for staying in the Championship but looking forward if we want to continue to progress then I'd like to see McKay and Musonda along with someone new for next season.

[Hank Scorpio]

Davo undeniably has his failings but I thought his  influence was probably a missing factor to some degree both at Inverness and against the Pars. Yes his pace has gone and he makes some glaring errors at times but he times his headers better than any other Raith players, his footwork is second to none (I'd say only Armstrong or Ross comes close) and his reading of the game is better than any other defender at the club.
Bene has lost pace and makes some terrible passes at times, his wayward ball that put Musonda in the shit being a case in point.
Mendy, is improving greatly but his reading of the game and positioning is still poor.
McKay is rated at the club, I thought for a while he wasn't fancied but I think he's now seen as more the future of the centre of our defence.
Musonda is a proper footballer, reads the game quite well, plays intelligent passes and is a goal threat, get him tied down on a longer deal and bulk him up a bit, if he bigger physique he'd be awesome.
Interesting to hear that we'd inquired about Paul Watson in the close season, he'd have been a very good acquisition, as would have been Robbie Deas.
I think the guys we have are adequate for staying in the Championship but looking forward if we want to continue to progress then I'd like to see McKay and Musonda along with someone new for next season.

Surprised to see you say Musonda could do with bulking up a bit. The guy is an absolute unit.

[McGuigan1978]

Which is why I’m favoring Mendy now, his passing has been excellent in all the games he’s played, his pace is superior and he’s a more physical player. Yes, he’s still learning, yes he makes the occasional mistake, but I think he must be moved in.

 

I admire your defence of Mendy, but his distribution veers between fine to absolutely terrible, which isn’t really good enough.

 

It was actually so bad against Cowdenbeath that Paul Smith started screaming that he was now no longer allowed to pass it back, as he made such a pig’s ear of two pass backs in quick succession.

 

He had a ten minute spell at Central Park where he looked every bit the calamity he was when he first joined, and is by some margin our poorest central defender, even with his recent improvement.

 

I wouldn’t be against using him as a destroyer in midfield if we needed it, but there’s no chance he could play in a back four at this level.

[R.R.FC]

Agree with the above. Musonda and Bene are, by a country mile, the best options available to use at centre back right now.

More than any other position on the pitch, communication and a partnership are incredibly important in central defence. Bene and Musonda have played a grand total of two games together against the best 2 teams in the league outside of Hearts IMO. I think they’ve been fine in those games but they’re only going to get better as their partnership develops.

The first goal was Tumilty getting beat far too easily. The second goal can be blamed on Bene/Musonda as McManus drifts between the two of them. We shouldn’t have let the cross get in so easy but it’s decent movement and an excellent finish by McManus. With more games and better communication together they possibly stop that but they weren’t the only ones at fault there.

I don’t think people appreciate how difficult it must be to play centre back for us. We play with 2 attacking wide players, the full backs are expected to get forward and create chances and we try to play a high pressing game leaving lots of space behind us. Added to that the centre backs are expected to get on the ball and start attacks. None of those are things your average lower League Scottish defender will enjoy. They are happiest camped on the edge of the box with no space behind heading long balls all day(no coincidence Bene’s best games last season were against Airdrie when they pumped long ball after long ball and we just had to defend on the edge of our area).

It’s a trade off for the number of goals we score and the type of football we are trying to play, we are never going to have the best defensive record in the league, regardless of who we play there. Given a bit of time to develop an understanding together I think Musonda and Bene will do well for us.

[HoBNob]

21 hours ago, Beastie Russell said:

We had two players out on the left hand side that should have shut out the opportunity to cross.

we didn’t and McManus did produce an explosive finish

They got done by a good bit of wing play by Dow, in him and Thomas we probably have the two best options for wide men in the division, occasionally they're going to get past the full back. 

Due to being on my Christmas holidays I had a check at the head to head record since 2009 and apparently Dunfermline have won 11, lost 6 and there's been four draws, usually the games are decided by the odd goal. 

[TxRover]

6 hours ago, R.R.FC said:

Agree with the above. Musonda and Bene are, by a country mile, the best options available to use at centre back right now.

More than any other position on the pitch, communication and a partnership are incredibly important in central defence. Bene and Musonda have played a grand total of two games together against the best 2 teams in the league outside of Hearts IMO. I think they’ve been fine in those games but they’re only going to get better as their partnership develops.

The first goal was Tumilty getting beat far too easily. The second goal can be blamed on Bene/Musonda as McManus drifts between the two of them. We shouldn’t have let the cross get in so easy but it’s decent movement and an excellent finish by McManus. With more games and better communication together they possibly stop that but they weren’t the only ones at fault there.

I don’t think people appreciate how difficult it must be to play centre back for us. We play with 2 attacking wide players, the full backs are expected to get forward and create chances and we try to play a high pressing game leaving lots of space behind us. Added to that the centre backs are expected to get on the ball and start attacks. None of those are things your average lower League Scottish defender will enjoy. They are happiest camped on the edge of the box with no space behind heading long balls all day(no coincidence Bene’s best games last season were against Airdrie when they pumped long ball after long ball and we just had to defend on the edge of our area).

It’s a trade off for the number of goals we score and the type of football we are trying to play, we are never going to have the best defensive record in the league, regardless of who we play there. Given a bit of time to develop an understanding together I think Musonda and Bene will do well for us.

I would suggest that the old five back routine might be more appealing versus the Pars, Hearts and ICT. Three CB with the LB and RB venturing into the midfield and up the wing played well before, and improved our defensive performance. Duku (and Ugwu?) are the type of pace players that could work atop a 5-4 (diamond)-1...not so sure about Lars...and it’s only 1/3 of the games.