Raith Rovers boss Ian Murray praises players for fightback bid after going two down against Partick Thistle

Even though the Kirkcaldy side came up short at Maryhill’s Firhill Stadium, they couldn’t have tried harder to fight back from going two goals down and, with a bit of luck, might even have pulled that off, according to Murray.

Scott Tiffoney put the hosts ahead with a follow-up shot following a series of blocks three minutes in and fellow winger Steven Lawless doubled their lead on 42 minutes following a defensive mix-up.

Visiting midfielder Ethan Ross got the Fifers back in it just a minute later and further chances followed in the second half to earn a point, but Ross missed an opportunity for a second and substitute Kyle Connell was denied by the woodwork.

“It was a hard 90 minutes to summarise,” Murray told Raith TV afterwards.

“We tried to start the game well but we lost a wee bit of an unlucky goal in the first four minutes, though there were things we could have done better within that period, then we lost a terrible second goal due to an individual error, which happens. Mistakes do happen and they do cost you.

“We responded just before half-time in a fantastic fashion with a really good goal, though.

“As horrible and as gutted as we all feel about the result, with the courage and workrate they showed, I couldn’t ask for any more from these guys.

“They were absolutely devastated about the result, but when you show that commitment, show a little bit of quality at times and show you can handle real high-pressure moments in games, as a manager, I can’t ask for these guys to do any more.”

Rovers left themselves short-handed at the back in their efforts to equalise, risking falling further behind and giving themselves a bigger mountain to climb, but Murray says that was a chance worth taking.

“That’s the courage I want to see from my players,” said the 41-year-old.

“We could have got hit for two or three towards the end if they’d been a bit better on the counter-attack, but if we’re going to go down, we’re going to go down fighting.

“If you’re going to get beaten, you want to go out with a bang. There’s no point in going out of games with a whimper like we did up at Cove. Today was a far different story from what we saw then.

“Again I said to the players ‘think of where we were that afternoon and think of where we are now. Think of the bigger picture’.

“Today’s sore. It hurts us and it’ll hurt everyone within the club and supporters, but I saw a team today. I saw a team that were willing to work hard, I saw a team that have tremendous courage and I saw a team that are coming together, and I can’t ask for much more.

“Overall, the commitment, desire and appetite towards this game from ourselves was fantastic.

“I’d be surprised if Partick didn’t realise they were in a heck of a game today because it was a great game, toe to toe against a potential championship-winning team.”

Murray also told of his gratitude to the 320-plus away fans in attendance to cheer their side on, saying: “Their backing’s been fantastic from day one, it really has.

“It was great to see so many come through here because we know it’s a difficult place to get to and we know the climate at the moment financially is very, very difficult.

“I can’t speak highly enough today of the team, the supporters and the football club as a whole.”