Ruthlessness now paying off in points, says Raith Rovers boss Ian Murray after 3-0 win against Cove Rangers

Goals from Aidan Connolly on four minutes, Jamie Gullan on 27 and Sam Stanton on 65 earned all three points for the Fifers at Stark’s Park and saw them leapfrogging their visitors into seventh place in the table, with 12 points from nine games, and setting them up for an opportunity to do the same to sixth-placed Greenock Morton this coming Saturday.

Connolly’s goal, assisted by a one-two with Gullan, resulted from a defensive error by Jack Sanders, allowing him to fire a low shot past Cove keeper Kyle Gourlay.

Gullan’s goal was a free-kick from 20 yards out curled into the top corner of the opposition net beyond Gourlay’s reach.

Stanton’s clincher was a left-footed shot from ten yards out following a spell of pressure orchestrated by Connolly, Scott Brown and Jamie Gullan.

Rovers gaffer Ian Murray was impressed by his team’s game management after going two up, telling Raith TV afterwards: “It was a very hard game.

“The scoreline probably reflects our dominance in the first half. The second half was slightly different. They’d got nothing to lose at 2-0 down so the game got a bit ragged at that point. It was important that we managed the game, which we did. Jamie MacDonald’s not had a save to make in the game. We’ve given them a couple of wee half-chances and that was it.

“Overall, I felt our first-half performance was excellent, it really was. It was a continuation of last week’s first half, but today we were more ruthless.

“At 2-0 at half-time, we knew the next goal would be really important, if there was going to be one. We didn’t need to score any more at that point. We’d love to go forward and score five, six or seven, and sometimes that happens, but on other days it’s about being solid at the back and managing the game out.

“We know Cove are good enough to play round you. We know that and we know at times they will get out. It’s about knowing what to do when they get out because they will – it happens to every team – and it’s also about knowing when to press and it comes from the defence and goes to the midfielders and strikers.

“We were so clear in what we were doing that it was very difficult for Cove. We knew exactly what to do when they had the ball deep, we knew exactly what we had to do when they had the ball high.”

Murray is also keeping up his call for more ruthlessness from his players, adding: “The understanding needs to be there from players and they’re getting there slowly.

“Results have been a wee bit up and down at times but that’s going to happen. This is a club that only won 12 games last season – this isn’t a team that won 20, 22 or 25 games. We’re now on four wins, so that’s 33% of that already. Now it’s about catching up with that 12 and then overtaking it. It’s about progress.

“If we can get to that 12-games-won mark and then turn those 1-0 defeats or 2-1 defeats that we’ve had into draws, then we’ll be OK, but we need to be ruthless in both boxes and today we were.”