Raith captain: We need to be braver

That was the message from frustrated captain Jason Thomson following the 1-1 draw with Queen of the South at Stark's Park on Saturday.

The sides traded goals in the opening 25 minutes as Ryan Hardie's early opener was cancelled out by Stephen Dobbie's controversial free-kick leveller.

Thereafter, the game descended into a low-quality battle with neither side able to string passes together as players wilted under the pressure.

The result kept Queens three points ahead of Raith, while Ayr United's victory over Dumbarton means the Kirkcaldy side are now just two points ahead of the relegation zone.

Thomson said: "There wasn't great football played by both teams.

"It was a battle and if there's any positive to take, it's maybe that a month ago would would've lost that. But even that isn't good enough.

"We're fighting for our lives now, and Ayr got a win, so we're back to where we were before the Dundee United game again."

"It takes somebody just to bring that ball down and be a bit braver.

"It sounds a bit silly to say a footballer should be brave to take the ball but it wasn't happening.

"It just turned into a battle. Hardie's goal came from taking it down, it wasn't just hoofed on, and we should've kept it going like that.

"We can't be playing with pressure - that makes things a lot more difficult - but that might've been the case.

"The manager has touched on it - we haven't been playing good football so we need to be the best in the league with the foundations - first and second balls - but we weren't even great at that, which is a worry.

"It's just showing a bit more desire to do well. I don't think Queens can say they played any better than us, but they will probably be happier than we are."

The draw extended Raith's unbeaten home record under John Hughes to four matches, however the manager wasn't impressed with the performance.

"To win at home we have to be better than that," he said. "I've seen us play with more intensity and higher energy levels.

"One or two of them were off it in terms of what they gave last week. We need to try and put that right."