Shootout success versus Kelty Hearts sees Raith Rovers through to next round of Fife Cup

Lewis Vaughan put Raith ahead from the penalty spot after a foul on Jamie Gullan and Gullan got the visitors’ other goal but they were cancelled out by a Ross Cunningham double, taking the Fife Cup first-round tie to penalties after open play at Kelty’s New Central Park in front of a crowd of 837 ended with the sides level at 2-2.

Gullan, Callum Smith, Vaughan and Ross Millen scored for Raith from the spot to secure a 4-1 shootout win, Cunningham being the hosts’ sole scorer.

Next up in the cup for the Kirkcaldy club are East of Scotland Football League premier division outfit Hill of Beath Hawthorn.

Before that, though, they’ve got two other Fife derbies to contend with – a friendly at East Fife this coming Saturday, with kick-off at 2pm, and a televised Viaplay Cup pool game at home at Stark’s Park to Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday, July 15, at 5.15pm.

“It was a really entertaining game," Murray told RaithTV afterwards.

“I felt we pressed really well again. We were pressing really high and forcing Kelty into making a few mistakes, but fair play to them as well, they were trying to play out and play good football.

“It was a really, really good game, and it takes two teams to make a good game.

“We know we have to do better in certain areas. We made a couple of poor decisions – very small decisions but they can lead to big moments in games.

“We kept our patience well, and that was a pleasing aspect of the game for me because when you’re 2-1 down and you’re dominating the second half, it can be very easy to lose your rag and let your mind wander and start kicking the ball long.

“We were playing two up, and Lewis and Jamie are a handful, and you’ve got Jack Hamilton to come into that as well.

“Our forward play was excellent – it was just the finishing of some of the balls Ross Millen put in that wasn’t. Big Jack, standing on the sidelines, must have been delighted to see that because he’ll thrive on those sorts of deliveries as he’s a finisher.

“In terms of our general play, we made good decisions – we just didn’t execute the final part of it.”

Raith lined up in a 4-1-3-2 formation again and Murray intends sticking with that, saying: “It’s a really, really hard formation to play, but it’s also a really hard formation to play against when you get it right, but the boys need to be really on it and fit for that.

“It’s a really hard formation for all the players but particularly the full-backs because we’re asking them to get really high, get wide and get back in on the counter-attack.

“We just need to work on positioning without the ball and how we can recognise patterns of play we’re trying to do earlier when we lose the ball.

“It’s just a matter of five or six yards, but as little as that might sound to a lot of people, it’s a huge distance in football, so we’ll brush up on that, get used to it and make sure our communication’s just a wee bit better.”