Aidan Connolly says Raith Rovers must kill games off and tighten up at the back if they are to climb the Scottish Championship.
The tricky winger scored his 14th goal of the season in the draw with Dundee on Friday.
Raith are unbeaten in five, with three draws in that time, although in one of those they went on to defeat Morton on penalties in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Connolly has played in every match this season, starting all but one.
He has recently been on a bit of a scoring spree, with 10 goals in his last 11 matches.
Another screamer to add to Aidan Connolly's ever-growing collection 🎯#cinchChamp | @RaithRovers pic.twitter.com/ACWsRN0EmR
— SPFL (@spfl) October 31, 2022
However, Rovers have failed to win in three of the previous four matches that he has scored in.
Great start
Friday night was no different, when mounting second-half Dundee pressure culminated in Jordan McGhee’s equaliser.
“I thought we were very good, first half,” said Connolly.
“I think it’s happened a lot this season where we’ve done really well first half and second half maybe not as good.
“Dundee are a physical team and they put balls in the box – and it’s difficult for us because we’re quite a small team.
“The first half, you’re probably wanting to score two or three goals.
But I think, at the end of the game, a draw was a fair result, considering the second half.
“The thing that we’ve maybe struggled at is, we often score the first goal and think we struggle to get the second.
“Some of the teams get back in it and I think you need to score that second to kill the game off.
“I think we need to improve when we’re winning by one – or even two – you need to be secure and make sure you don’t concede.”
Paying the bills
Rovers manager Ian Murray has suffered from a number of injuries this season and was again “proud” of his threadbare side.
San Stanton and Kieran Ngwenya were the latest to miss out and will have scans on Monday to figure out the extent of the damage.
Consistency in team selection has therefore been quite difficult but Connolly is hoping the same starting XI in the last two matches is a promising sign.
“We have a few boys to come back and they’re important players to the team,” added Connolly.
“It’s about fighting to get in the first XI.
“That’s what you need, you need competition.”
Connolly was happy to keep up his excellent scoring run but explained why he’d prefer the win – beyond the obvious, cliched answer that three points are better for the team.
“Sometimes you’d rather get the three points and the win bonus to make sure you can pay the bills! You know what they’re like just now,” he quipped.
“I don’t think I’ve had a tap-in in a while, to be honest with you. They’re the best goals.”
Conversation