New signing Paul ​Hanlon gets off mark for Raith Rovers in friendly versus Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Veteran Hibernian defender Paul Hanlon got off the mark for his new club by putting the only goal of the game past visiting goalkeeper Jack Newman from close range in a crowded box four minutes from full-time.

Hanlon, 34, was one of three new faces in the Fifers’ starting back four, along with ex-Hibs team-mate Lewis Stevenson and former Dundee United right-back Kieran Freeman, with Euan Murray being the only survivor from the defence that conceded 42 goals during their last Scottish Championship campaign.

Fellow new signing Shaun Byrne also featured in Raith’s starting line-up in midfield after turning his loan from Dundee last season into a permanent move.

Saturday’s win was Raith fans’ only chance to see their new boys in pre-season action at home as their two prior friendlies were on the road, a goalless draw at East Fife and 1-0 victory at Montrose, thanks to a Callum Smith goal, and another coming up hosting Annan Athletic at Kirkcaldy’s Stark’s Park on Tuesday will be played behind closed doors.

Raith manager Ian Murray was impressed by his side’s display against the Highlanders, telling Raith TC afterwards: “It was a really good game.

“I enjoyed watching us, more so in the second half than the first, although we did dominate the 90 minutes, to be honest.

“We didn’t create enough to win the first half. We were just a wee bit flat in terms of our tempo with the ball and our position on the pitch. Saying that, on the flip side, without the ball we were fantastic with our press. We really pressed the life out of them for the whole game.

“The number of turnovers the boys managed to get was very, very high.

“I felt that in the second half our movement was far better. Our tempo going forward was far better, a wee bit like the Montrose game.

“We looked a bit more like ourselves in the second half.

“Overall, it was a really worthwhile exercise, a really good day.”

Murray, 43, was impressed by how well Rovers controlled the game, saying: “Our work-rate’s been excellent.

“We were quite high up the park when we had the ball and we were also winning the ball or making the other team make mistakes.

“You’ve always got to be cautious of counter-attacks because some teamss play on the counter-attackand are very good at it and can hurt you, and we’ve seen that so many times in football.

“We’ve got good quality at the back now, we’ve got good calmness in midfield, we’ve got loads of options on the bench and when our front players do have the movement and the link-up, we can produce and we’re a very hard team to beat.”

“We got into good areas of the park quite a few times in the second half, so I was really, really happy.”

Raith begin their competitive campaign with a league cup pool match away to Scottish League Two’s Stirling Albion this coming Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.