Cove vs Raith, 14/1/23

[CALDERON]

17 minutes ago, Paco said:

There’s a middle ground with Frederiksen, both in terms of specifically shooting yesterday and overall what he can bring. People seem to be falling into ‘give him a shot’ and ‘he’s hopeless’ camps and I’m not sure either are correct  

I haven’t seen his decision to shoot but clearly it was the wrong one. But comments claiming he personally cost us the game are ludicrous. He didn’t play a Cove player in on goal, he didn’t give them one final attack. We were barely into injury time, Cove still have three or four minutes and Frederiksen gave their goalkeeper the ball. We conceded 90 seconds later from a corner. He was stupid and deserves criticism but there’s a lot of other factors at play. 
 

In terms of his general contribution, he clearly isn’t very good and in an ideal world we don’t start him in league games. But, he’s here and he showed against Dundee, albeit only for three minutes, that he could have a place as a late ‘carnage’ option. When you think to the Morton and particularly Arbroath home matches, it seems mental that we were dreadful but didn’t throw him on to try and get a winner, instead relying on Connell who came on and did nothing. 
 

I see him a bit like say Connor McBride. A squad player to come off the bench now and then, and probably only when things get desperate. With Connell gone we should see more of him, and for what it’s worth I think if he had Connell’s game time he’d have contributed about the same as he did. 

The only thing I would say, is that we win the game if John takes it into the corner.  He didn't personally cost us the win,  but it was certainly a factor.  My memory may be clouded by the beers, but I'm fairly sure it was about 60 seconds between him giving away possession and Cove scoring.

But, it was another awfully defended set pieces.

Frustrating, as we actually played quite well and Cove offered virtually nothing.

[baillieinleeds]

29 minutes ago, roverthemoon said:

Absolutely not writing him off at all and really hope he goes on to prove himself, but this season is all about survival. We need our strongest players on the park and at the moment unfortunately he’s not one of them when we’re defending a lead. Definitely throw him on if we’re needing a goal late on though. 

Exactly, Marv was kept out of the team too because we were in a battle for survival, as we are now. We simply cannot proceed with the current team until the end of the season. I really want Fredericksen to succeed. 

[CALDERON]

2 minutes ago, baillieinleeds said:

Exactly, Marv was kept out of the team too because we were in a battle for survival, as we are now. We simply cannot proceed with the current team until the end of the season. I really want Fredericksen to succeed. 

Steady on, we are 11 points clear of 9th, 15 clear of 10th and unbeaten in 7 games- with several key players soon to return.

 

[Beachbum]

 

[Halbeath Raith Rover]

We're in the position we're in because we don't have the strength and depth at the moment to bring on fresh legs.

We should have been a couple of goals ahead after playing some good football in the second half. We don't have the strikers to score loads of goals though.

I don't think we're in a catastrophic positon , get a few more points on the board and give the young boys some game time. Murray then has a decent amount of time to look at who he moves on and who he wants to sign in the summer.

Anyone else still struggling to feel their toes after the cold yesterday ? 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Halbeath Raith Rover

[R.R.FC]

30 minutes ago, Beachbum said:

 

Don’t know how anyone could argue that John was within his rights to take that shot on . Crazy decision, ball bouncing 40-50 yards out with the keeper retreating, just run it to the corner.

However, it is clearly not the only reason we conceded, the corner should have been defended far, far better. There are so many people that could have done better to prevent it. Spencer’s man is able to run off him control and overhead kick the ball in the box, Mitchell could have stooped to try and get a head on the ball or at least put off the overhead kick, I think it is Dick that has just completely left his man to try and push up and we have defenders still in the 6 yard box. Normally I’d say they should have pushed up when the corner went to the edge of the box but in the last minute of stoppage time, just stay with your man. Not to mention, MacDonald getting his hands to it should have saved it IMO. A catalogue of errors, really abysmal goal to lose, very frustrating.

Edited January 15, 2023 by R.R.FC

[CALDERON]

6 minutes ago, R.R.FC said:

Don’t know how anyone could argue that John was within his rights to take that shot on . Crazy decision, ball bouncing 40-50 yards out with the keeper retreating, just run it to the corner.

However, it is clearly not the only reason we conceded, the corner should have been defended far, far better. There are so many people that could have done better to prevent it. Spencer’s man is able to run off him control and overhead kick the ball in the box, Arnott could have stooped to try and get a head on the ball or at least put off the overhead kick, I think it is Dick that has just completely left his man to try and push up and we have defenders still in the 6 yard box. Normally I’d say they should have pushed up when the corner went to the edge of the box but in the last minute of stoppage time, just stay with your man. Not to mention, MacDonald getting his hands to it should have saved it IMO. A catalogue of errors, really abysmal goal to lose, very frustrating.

Yeah, the problem isn't our centre backs- it's how the whole team defend set pieces.

 

[R.R.FC]

Just now, CALDERON said:

Yeah, the problem isn't our centre backs- it's how the whole team defend set pieces.

 

Yeah, I still think an experienced head like a Berra or Anderson alongside Lang would make a big difference in terms of organisation and command of set pieces. However, it doesn’t completely fix the issue. O’Riordan was about 6 foot 4 and we conceded from set pieces when he was here.

I don’t think it is an easy fix though, we are fundamentally a small team, small in midfield and up front and even Lang isn’t big for a centre back. However, it was concentration and communication that cost the goal yesterday rather than the lack of height.

It’s one of those things, opposition will be aware it’s an issue and our team will know we lose a lot of goals from set pieces so that creates a nervousness when we have to defend them, particularly at the death. Very frustrating, if just one of about 6 different players had done what they should have in the last 60 seconds of that game, we win. Not much a manager can do in those circumstances.

[TxRover]

1 hour ago, baillieinleeds said:

That’s probably the best summation of our squad I’ve read so far. I’d always prefer other clubs players to the majority of ours….except I’d keep MacDonald, Connolly, Lang to an extent (injury prone) Stanton, Vaughan (injury prone) Spencer, Easton. Then build a squad around them. That’s a lot of cash we don’t have. We should be a club in progression. But we seem to be regressing at a rate of knots.

Better get to work signing JMac, Connolly and Lang then..the others are signed for next year already.

2 hours ago, R.R.FC said:

I think our midfield and goalkeeper are realistically as good as we could expect to have and I wouldn’t be in a rush to swap with anyone else there.

I assume you meant to add “when healthy”.

[TxRover]

24 minutes ago, R.R.FC said:

Yeah, I still think an experienced head like a Berra or Anderson alongside Lang would make a big difference in terms of organisation and command of set pieces. However, it doesn’t completely fix the issue. O’Riordan was about 6 foot 4 and we conceded from set pieces when he was here.

I don’t think it is an easy fix though, we are fundamentally a small team, small in midfield and up front and even Lang isn’t big for a centre back. However, it was concentration and communication that cost the goal yesterday rather than the lack of height.

It’s one of those things, opposition will be aware it’s an issue and our team will know we lose a lot of goals from set pieces so that creates a nervousness when we have to defend them, particularly at the death. Very frustrating, if just one of about 6 different players had done what they should have in the last 60 seconds of that game, we win. Not much a manager can do in those circumstances.

Our concessions from set pieces:

1st Q - Cove (2), Morton, Queen’s

2nd Q - Dundee, Queen’s, Arbroath

3rd Q -Morton (2), Cove…

That 3 each with Cove and Morton, 2 with Queen’s, and 1 with Dundee and Arbroath. Queen’s lead the league in goals, but Arbroath are ninth, Morton are joint seventh, Cove are joint fifth and Dundee are fourth. The goals to Queen’s, Dundee and Arbroath make sense (free scorers, and random luck), but to allow three set pieces goals to the both the fifth and seventh best scoring teams in three matches against each smells, at least against those teams.

[Strathman]

I was at the game. The shot was definitely on.   The big fellow is an odd scapegoat for the equaliser.

[Ro Sham Bo]

The shot was never on, unlike last week it was on his weaker foot so the chances of him sclaffing it like he did were increased significantly. 

Having said that, we then concede a corner instead of defending the punt up the pitch and the defending of the corner itself is hopeless. There's easily another 3 or 4 folk culpable there. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Ro Sham Bo

[Ro Sham Bo]

Also, those highlights really sum up our attacking issues. In that second half we seem to get into plenty of threatening areas but struggle to create a single clear cut chance from them. 

[baillieinleeds]

23 minutes ago, Strathman said:

I was at the game. The shot was definitely on.   The big fellow is an odd scapegoat for the equaliser.

Yup, the very word I was trying to convey Scapegoat. The defence have to take some kind of accountability for failure to clear the corner. 

[basher brash]

You just have to look at where our issues lie , we are in the top 4 for shots and for shots on target and are above other teams who are above us in the table , We aren’t scoring enough but creating plenty however we are top 4 for conceding fouls I'm guessing probably a high volume are around the edge of the box hence losing to many goals from set pieces. 
 

[SirJimmyofNic]

22 games in, we've learned nothing from the mistakes/lack of concentration, the architects of our own downfall to a large extent, yesterday's penalty classic example hand and arm above head, even if Nolan had been pushed what was his arm doing there in the first place, why in the last 10 mins were we sitting so deep in our own half inviting pressure on ourselves, once again it's another season where we seem to have no leader on the park

[Hank Scorpio]

Liam Dick not absolved of blame at the equaliser. Seems to momentarily forget that he’s defending a corner in the last second and decides to try and push out when there’s about 4 players still behind him. 

[TxRover]

2 hours ago, Beachbum said:

 

Is it wrong that every time I look at that stand I wonder if they left it in the dryer too long?

[pub car king]

Looking at the highlights and the raith TV boys are usually very fair then we should have won that easily. 

Both goals were crackers Easton might have our goal of the season with the second, incidently I think he's been excellent recently. 

Big John, I can see why he went for the shot the keeper was well out of his goal when he's kicked the ball and after the other night he was probably feeling confident, the execution however was abysmal. 

That said our "defending" is fucking non existent at the corner the space and time the boy has to take it down turn and play it for his mate who has the freedom of Aberdeen at the far post is fucking criminal. 

Yes John should have done something else but the real culprit is the defending at that corner we had the same issue against Morton.

 

[Rovers_Lad]

Yes  big john could be deemed culpable for taking on the shot and giving up possession but that possession was almost in Coves box.It was  basic defending that cost us the 3 points.

We had 11 players that couldn,t defend a corner which is poor