Fife derby: Dylan Easton effort earns Raith Rovers point against Pars

The Kirkcaldy side had been hoping to follow up their 2-0 pre-season friendly victory at East Fife a week earlier and their penalty shootout Fife Cup knockout of Kelty Hearts seven days before that by making it three in a row in their first truly competitive fixture of the new campaign in front of a crowd of just over 4,000, but the Pars had other ideas.

Lewis McCann put the visitors ahead on the half-hour mark after slicing open Raith’s defence and shooting past goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski into the bottom-right corner of the net.

Dylan Easton pegged the Pars back with a solo goal every bit the equal of McMinn’s effort on 38 minutes, bulldozing his way past two defenders then evading another couple before placing the ball over visiting keeper Deniz Mehmet.

Both teams had other chances during Saturday’s first half, Jamie Gullan hitting the crossbar for Raith with a free-kick from 30 yards out and Josh Edwards being denied by a post, and Rovers went on to look the likelier to score following the interval, a Liam Dick header and Lewis Vaughan shot forcing Mehmet into saves.

Full-time ended even, however, allowing Athletic to claim a bonus point via a 4-2 shootout win, Matthew Todd putting away the crucial spot-kick after Gullan and Vaughan came up short for the hosts.

Murray was satisfied enough with his side’s showing, however, telling Raith TV afterwards: “We wouldn’t have got too happy if we’d won the game, though we’d have liked to, but it’s not going to define our season, so we’re certaintly not going to get too downbeat because we didn’t.

“It was a really difficult game, as you’d expect against your local rivals and being at home and in a cup competition as well.

“It was quite even in the first half, I felt – we probably deserved our equaliser just before half-time – but then in the second half, we were a wee bit better than them, though not quite where we want to be obviously. We want to be sharper, be quicker and make better decisions.

“Overall, I think we deserved something out of the game.

“We didn’t create as much as we’d have liked but but you expect that in a stuffy game, a high-pressure game as well, with a big crowd here.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t win the game in the 90 minutes but we’re not going to sit here and get too down about it.”

Though happy with how his team’s preparations for the upcoming Scottish Championship season are going, Murray conceded that they’ve still got a way to go, adding: “There’s plenty of work to be done, that’s for sure, to get some of the boys up to tempo.

“Where we are is okay. I’m happy with how we did in pre-season.

“Overall, I couldn’t have asked for any more from the players today. Their workrate, endeavour and appetite for the game were second to none.”