Goalless draw at Queen’s Park sees Raith Rovers go level on points with table-toppers Dundee United

Fellow Fifers Dunfermline Athletic had presented the Kirkcaldy club with an opportunity to claim pole position in Scottish football’s second tier for the first time in two months by beating United 3-1 at home the night before, leaving them only a point ahead of Raith.

That chance went begging, however, and manager Ian Murray’s side remain in second place by virtue of a goal difference 23 inferior to United’s after their seventh draw of the season and third clean sheet on the bounce.

Eighth-placed Queen’s Park had goalkeeper Calum Ferrie to thank for earning them a point at home at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, keeping out potential match-winning efforts by Sam Stanton and Callum Smith, among four shots on target for the visitors to their hosts’ one.

Raith’s next game in their seven-match run-in to the end of the regular season offers another opportunity to maintain pressure on United as it’s a visit to the league leaders’ Tannadice Park ground on Saturday, March 30, with kick-off at 3pm, though their hosts have got another game in the interim, at home to second-from-bottom Inverness Caledonian Thistle this coming Saturday, also at 3pm.

The Fifers go into that away-day unbeaten against United since 2017, having won two of their previous meetings this campaign, by 2-1 at home at Stark’s Park last month and 1-0 away in December, and drawn the other, 1-1 at home in October.

“It was a really good game, with both teams playing good football.

“I felt we started the game really, really well. We forced five or six corners in the opening ten to 15 minutes and were unforunate not to score.

“In the second half too, I felt we were the better side. We were the team with more impetus in the game. We were trying to get that goal but it elded us.

“Overall, I was really, really happy with our performance and happy with the week’s work the players have put in. That’s three clean sheets, including a derby game in that and two away games. It’s been good.

“We’re doing very, very well and the players are doing very, very well. They’re disappointed that they didn’t win the game but in terms of moving forward, they can hold their heads high.

“This is a tough venue to come to and we were playing against a good side, so to come here and nullify them pretty much was really, really pleasing.

“Yes, on another day, we could have nicked the game but I don’t think the players could have done any more. They put so much effort into that game.

“We’ve now got four clean sheets out of our last five games and that looks to me like a team going for a league title.

“We are where we are. There’s a long, long way to go.

“We’ve got seven games to go. It’s a shootout now between ourselves and Dundee United. If we go up there and win, nothing really changes. Nothing is decided, and it’s the same if we go up there and don’t win. We’ve got a lot of football to go.”