Jamie Gullan and Lewis Vaughan on target for Raith Rovers at East Fife

The Kirkcaldy club followed up their penalty shootout first-round Fife Cup knockout of Kelty Hearts seven days previously with a 2-0 pre-season friendly win against East Fife in Methil at the weekend and they’ll be hoping to extend their current winning streak against kingdom clubs to three games at home to Dunfermline Athletic in the Viaplay Cup’s group stage this Saturday, with kick-off at 5.15pm.

Second-half goals from Lewis Vaughan and fellow forward Jamie Gullan, brought on as a half-time substitute, secured victory for manager Ian Murray’s men in their final warm-up of the summer at Bayview Stadium.

Vaughan’s goal, scored from the penalty spot for a handball by Jonathan Page, was his third in three friendlies and it was a fourth in four fixtures for Gullan, alias Hammer.

Former Livingston striker Jack Hamilton made his debut for Raith after being sidelined since signing up at the end of May by international clearance issues and a minor knock but he’s still waiting to get his name on the teamsheet for the first time as he had to play as a trialist pending confirmation of his Scottish Football Association registration.

The 23-year-old was in Raith’s starting line-up but went off at half-time as he builds up his match fitness after getting 45 minutes of game-time under his belt with his new club.

He saw one effort go wide early on from a Callum Smith cross but wasn’t able to mark his debut with a goal.

Scott McGill and Sam Stanton also went close, both with long-range efforts, in the first half but couldn’t get on the scoresheet either. Further chances followed after the break for Liam Dick and Keith Watson.

At the other end of the pitch, visiting goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski was largely untroubled.

Murray, 42, was happ with what he saw on Saturday, telling Raith TV afterwards: “It was another really good workout for us.

“It was another really hard game. It was a tough game to handle in terms of it being really crowded in the middle of the park, in the first half in particular, and East Fife were sitting off the ball, which is always difficult, and they kept their shape really well. They’ve built a really good squad for the forthcoming season.

“Eventually we got our rewards, but if we’re being pernickety, our finishing could have been better again and we could have scored more.

“It was a steady performance. There were no real scares. Kevin had a fairly quiet afternoon but dealt with what he had to do well.

“Hammer gave us a little bit of energy when he came on. He looked really, really hungry, as you’d expect coming off the bench.

“Lewis Vaughan was outstanding. His work-rate and his movement to win the penalty were excellent. Not a lot of players can do that. I’m delighted to see Lewis now getting up to speed and he’s going to be a big player for us.

“Sam Stanton’s a quality player, one of the best players in our league, and we saw both sides of his game today, his defensive capabilities and running at players.”