Ian Murray says Raith Rovers were deservedly beaten by Dundee but is left confused over handball call

Raith Rovers manager Ian Murray had no complaints about the scoreline after a 2-0 defeat at Dens Park.

Zach Robinson’s double, the first from the spot, gave Dundee the points in a tough afternoon for the Rovers.

Murray said his side lacked quality in the final third and were deservedly beaten.

The penalty call – as it does in so many matches – left the Raith manager unsure whether it should have been given or not.

Soundly beaten

“I do feel Dundee deserved to win the game, I think we have to acknowledge that,” said Murray.

“The second half in particular, I thought the first half was as really, really close game.

“But overall, for the second-half performance, I thought they deserved to win.”

Robinson had threatened before his goals, striking both posts with the same effort in the first half.

That came after a spell of dominance for Rovers during which they failed to capitalise.

Penalty decision

The game swung in Dundee’s favour on the second-half penalty decision for handball.

“Ach, it’s a tough one,” said Murray. I’ve watched it back – it’s so hard.

“The ball is coming at that speed from that distance, people go on about natural body shapes, but I think for anybody that is probably your natural body shape at that moment.

“If something is coming towards you – it doesn’t matter what it is, it could be a bit of paper – people flinch.

“They move their arms. That’s where it gets a bit tricky.

“It hits his hand but I don’t think there is much more Scott could have done to get out the way of the shot.

“Sometimes you get those, sometimes you don’t.”

Dundee manager Gary Bowyer was delighted with his side’s display.

“I thought it was our best performance of the season, to be honest,” said the Dundee manager.

“The players deserve an enormous amount of credit for the amount of work they’ve put in this week on the new system.”