It was seen by many as a missed opportunity for Raith Rovers, but Ian Murray described it as a ‘good week’s work’.
A goalless draw against Queen’s Park denied the Stark’s Park men top spot in the Championship.
Despite a trademark late rally and growing pressure in a grandstand finish, the Kirkcaldy outfit failed to get the goal that would have sent them two points clear of Dundee United.
Passing up the chance to take advantage of United’s surprise defeat at Dunfermline on Friday night may have been frustrating.
However, manager Ian Murray refused to dwell on the negatives as he praised his side for closing the gap in the space of seven fruitful days.
Glass half full
Whether Raith will rue too many missed opportunities at the top of the table will only be decided come the end of the campaign.
There have been others, most notably in recent times losing 3-2 to bottom side Arbroath after being two goals up.
But it is difficult to class Saturday’s draw away from home against an improved Queen’s Park as a gilt-edged chance passed up.
The Spiders have been improved under former St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson and have now lost just twice in his 10 games in charge.
Dundee United are also due to head to Hampden next month and, on Saturday’s evidence, will not have it easy either.
Murray insisted he felt no frustration at failing to get the win they needed to climb to the summit.
Closing a four-point gap on United in the space of seven days was enough to remove the disappointment from a potentially costly stalemate.
There are now just seven games go in the season and the Kirkcaldy men are delighted to be just goal difference away from the top of the league.
They are determined to stay positive and, as Murray and goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski have intimated, ‘enjoy the ride’ along the way.
A pivotal fortnight
That journey could get a bit rockier over the next two weeks if things go against Raith.
First of all, they do not have a game next weekend because scheduled opponents Airdrie are in the final of the SPFL Trust Trophy.
That gives Dundee United their own opportunity to open up a gap at the top of the Championship when they host second-bottom Inverness Caley Thistle.
A win would stretch their lead to three points going into the meeting of the two title challengers at Tannadice on March 30.
Another victory for the Tangerines in that showdown would put them six points clear – which would be the equivalent of seven given their vastly superior goal difference.
Rovers would have a game in hand but that would be a commanding lead at such a late stage in the campaign.
Of course, it is all ifs, buts and maybes until points are on the board.
And others would rightly point out that should Inverness pull off a shock and Raith repeat their stirring win on Tayside from back in December then things would look vastly different.
The frustration for Ian Murray and his side will be their lay-off allows United to take the initiative again.
But it seems like the coming fortnight will go a long way to deciding the destination of the championship.
Sound foundations
The Hampden stalemate was Raith’s fourth clean sheet from their last five games.
That three of them came in the space of a week in which they took seven points from a possible nine gave Murray his reason for optimism.
The Stark’s Park boss has mentioned a couple of times recently the criticism that has come the way of his defence this season.
A sequence where they conceded 14 goals in just five home games gave detractors plenty of evidence.
Although Murray felt the brickbats were largely undeserved, Rovers have clearly worked on being more parsimonious in defence.
Losing three goals – all in that one outlier against Arbroath – from their last five games gives the Kirkcaldy outfit a sound foundation on which to attack the title run-in.
In their last five matches, Dundee United have conceded six times, including a worryingly sloppy three goals against Dunfermline on Friday night.
With Raith’s attacking options they will be optimistic of making the most of their new-found solidity.
Versatility
That Raith have managed those four shut-outs is all the more impressive given the personnel that has achieved it.
Keeper Kevin Dabrowski, stopper Euan Murray and left-back Liam Dick have been constants but the others have changed.
On Saturday, for instance, the clean sheet was achieved with Scott Brown at centre-half, where admittedly he has spent much of the campaign, and fellow midfielder Ross Matthews filling in at right-back.
Keith Watson has featured in just one of the nils (against Morton) and James Brown three.
In front of them, the midfield has been mixed and matched.
Kyle Turner has played more defensively than he has at times in his career, whilst Sam Stanton has also been asked to curb his attacking enthusiasm at moments given the changes at the back.
Rovers’ attacking players also all have the ability to fulfil differing roles depending on the personnel available, the opposition and the fixture workload.
Murray would love to have consistency of selection but he will know that his squad is adaptable enough to cope with whatever the coming weeks throw at them.
