Saints 1 Raith 0 League Table Here
Team : McGregor, Pamela Anderson, Fotheringham, Hannah,
Weir, Maxwell, McManus, Sheerin, Hay, Ryan, Hardy
Subs : Cuthbert, Rutkiewicz, Tait, Marshall, McConalogue
There were plenty of rumours going round before kick-off today that it was make-or-break time for Connolly. Zero in the points department prior to today's game and out of the CIS cup meant that the pressure was on the Saints manager and players to deliver. And even if the quality left a lot to be desired (to say the least) Saints sneaked the win to get us off the foot of the table.
Saints were without what was left of the Love Street Three as Moore and Webb sat this one out. Official new boy Steven Anderson and new new boy Kevin Fotheringham both started and with this game classed in the "emergency" category, Jim Weir partnered Maxwell in the heart of defence. Steven McManus and Lee Hardy came into midfield and Ryan went up front with Chris Hay.
With the pressure on us to break at least the one-point barrier this season, you'd have expected Saints to be up for the game and ready to take the play to the Raith Asylum Seekers 11. But suffice to say that the first half won't be held up as a shining example of total football when they write the history books. Crap doesn't even begin to describe it - the odd sparkle of skill was like seeing a diamond shine out from mountain of manure. Raith were first to try their luck with a first-minute freekick held easily by RobRoy. Hay had a run through on goal but took the ball wide and ended up seeing his cross cut out.
We had our best chance of the half in the sixth minute though when a good build-up on the left saw Fotheringham set up Hardy who played a cracking pass into the middle where he found Stevenson running through between a pair of Rovers defenders. The ball fell perfectly to him but his chip over the onrushing keeper also went onto the top of the net, when perhaps a low shot would have been more effective. And it was a sign that Fotheringham and Hardy (the latter sporting a nicely topped-up tan) were developing a good early understanding.
Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for some of the other players. Distribution from the back was very poor although "Pamela" Anderson was impressive on the right flank, mainly because he seemed to be the only one who was able to control the ball before playing a pass. The centre of the pitch was a real problem typified by the attempt to play the ball out of defence in the 12th minute. Six square passes across the defence and the final ball still went to a Rovers player. Four minutes after that, the dodgy pair of Sheerin and Hannah struck once more with a pass from the former intercepted before it reached the latter allowing Raith to get through on goal - the final shot was easily held by RobRoy.
Sheerin set up Hardy a minute later and his cross found Stevenson in the box, but he was unable to turn and get a shot in. McManus was next up with a run and a low shot that went wide. But the best we could really manage was a couple of crosses that Berthelot in the away goal could only punch clear. Pamela had a good run in space in 26 minutes and found Ryan in with an excellent pass but his effort was blocked by the keeper. But a minute later the suicidal defending almost gave the Fifers the lead. A slack header back from Weir was intercepted as RobRoy came out his box to get it. There was a hint of a shove by Weir on the Raith man but it was enough to put him off and allow Fotheringham in to clear.
Ryan and Hay clashed going for the same ball in the 33rd minute leaving Chris needing treatment. The game was fairly even with both sides making some dreadful mistakes. Saints seemed to be getting caught offside more often than not. And while Raith rarely threatened RobRoy's goal, they were being kindly given courtesy of our midfield who yet again were reluctant to tackle anybody in the centre of the park. We did come close to opening the scoring just before the break. A Rovers clearance broke to Lee Hardy and he turned and fired in a cracking shot from the edge of the box, only to see Berthelot tip the ball wide.
The midfield continued in their ways after the half-time cuppa, with Mr. Hannah on form - after Raith again waltzed up the park and shot wide, our esteemed skipper berated Stevenson for not coming back to help, after he himself stood off as Rovers attacked. Meanwhile ex-Captain Jim was mixing it with the Raith number 9 which ended up with the Fifer being booked - which to be honest was a lucky escape after Weir seemed to raise his hands. In fact, there were only two bookings in a game that was less dirty than last week - such is the inconsistency of the Scottish referees. Fotheringham came close in the 51st minute with a flick-on from a Hardy freekick. The ball went out for a corner and from it, Pamela fire a shot over.
Raith pressed back and in the 55th minute gave the Saints support a collective heart attack. A simple freekick, conceded by McManus was played in from the left. Hannah's attempted clearance was a total sclaff and when the ball eventually dropped back to earth McGregor only succeeded in punching the ball to an opposition player and had to look sharp to back-pedal enough to tip the resulting shot over the bar. Two minutes later and Maxwell and McGregor had a mix-up and after RobRoy was rounded, Maxwell was quick to get in and clear his lines.
There were a few boos from the East Stand when Connolly made his first change replacing the hard-working Ryan by McConalogue around the hour mark, which seemed strange given that Steve McManus was struggling on the right. Within a couple of minutes Stef was involved in the action passing to Hay whose flick on found Sheerin unmarked in the box. His first touch let him down though but at least we were starting to make some chances. A minute later and the boo-boys were given more ammunition though when David Hannah took a quick free-kick - so quick in fact that the rest of the Saints players weren't aware and the ball went straight out. Raith were still making chances though and RobRoy was involved in the thick of it, not all of it wonderfully confident goalkeeping though with a couple of punches and one effort palmed clear only to land at the feet of a Raith player who shot well wide. He did make a cracking save from a 20-yard effort a few minutes later though and tipped the shot over the bar. Saints were looking under the cosh about now, with memories of the second-half at Love St still fresh in the mind.
But we began to get back into the game with Hardy making more and more runs down the left wing and showing plenty of pace. Even Hay made the odd tackle or two. Hannah had a shot from the edge of the box blocked and Hardy saw a couple of crosses held before in the 74th minute we broke the deadlock. Fotheringham won a corner thanks to a neat deflection. The ball came over and was cleared to Hannah who headed it down to Hay and onto Fotheringham in the box who smacked a great volley off the ground, past the keeper and into the bottom corner of the net.
The game opened up now and Raith tried to hit back with a couple of headers. They hit a dangerous cross into the box with 10 minutes to go which saw McGregor static on the goalline and Anderson had to get back to head the ball behind. When we eventually broke up the park Hardy was tripped from behind which earned the Raith player a booking. Connolly then played his trump card with Chris Hay replaced by Rustybits - and it was a straight replacement with the ex-Dons defender playing up front. To be fair he won a few balls in the air but the last 5 or 6 minutes saw Saints settle for the one-goal win and easily dealing with Raith's attacks.
Not the most emphatic of wins but I'd bet most of us would have settled for that before kick-off. MoM is easy with Kevin Fotheringham outstanding. Hardy, Anderson and Ryan all played well whilst Weir and Maxwell tightened up in the second-half. Hannah is still a problem in my mind and the whole of the centre of midfield needs sorted out before the next game - when you start wishing for the good old days of a Reilly square ball, it's a sign that something's not going right.
The PA played "All Right Now" as we left the ground. Perhaps not totally true but today was at least a definite improvement.
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| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
| Clyde | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 12 |
| St Mirren | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 10 |
| Partick Thistle | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 |
| Falkirk | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 7 |
| Hamilton | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Ross County | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Airdrie | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| Queen of the South | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Saints | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Raith | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
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