jagfox Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 (edited) As the joy of Friday settles down we are right back into the mania of the playoffs tomorrow against a team we have struggled to get results against this season. There are arguments though that we could have got more from each and every game though. As an outsider I find it hard to analyse Raith and how they lineup, indeed apart from having a good squad of players what has made them a decent team this season? Anyway, from a red and yellow perspective it is all about what we can bring to the table. Taking a win, however slender up to Kirkcaldy for the second leg would be vital, I feel. I don't see any drastic changes to how we line-up. Despite the results the games have been close and I hope we can get the first part of the job done on Tuesday night. TL;DR - A tight game but Jags to edge it. C'mon the Jags. Edited May 20 by jagfox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 I think it probably was their squad. They also had a couple of players who knew how to score. Onto the game, it will probably be the same 11, although we can’t concede the midfield the same as we did against Airdrie. There’s a couple of options to change, I suppose. Ngwenya for Stanway to add a bit more pace or Bannigan for Stanway to give us a bit more control of the ball. Both would be harsh on Stanway who has been decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 I’d retain Stanway. 2-1 Jags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 Assuming no injuries I don't think we need to change the starting XI. We are tho' entering a phase of the play offs where fitness levels have to be considered. With that in mind if the occasion arises I wouldn't be surprised if we protected a thin one goal lead. Positives I can take from last week's games are firstly Fitzpatrick switching wings now and again causing problems for the opposition (eg 1st goal Fri night) and secondly the relative ease we display changing to a back 3/back 5. Doolan's game management home and away v Airdrie has been significant. Could be construed by many as a bit negative, but then again if he's looking at games ahead then you could argue he's being positive. Whatever I feel we're less predictable in play of late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljaggo Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 Raith went through a lot of the season scoring in the last few minutes. I don't know whether that was down to superior levels of fitness or good substitutions - or perhaps both. Conversely, we for a spell conceded late goals as we remember all too well. So I think Doolan has to be super smart with his initial line up and substitutions, and have a clear plan for the whole 90 minutes. His focus I think should be in getting more from our midfield, and through that taking some of the pressure off Fitzy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert's Ghost Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 22 minutes ago, eljaggo said: His focus I think should be in getting more from our midfield He got very little on Friday. Airdrie had the freedom of Firhill, at least outside our penalty box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 15 minutes ago, Albert's Ghost said: He got very little on Friday. Airdrie had the freedom of Firhill, at least outside our penalty box. But that's been the same story all season. We seem to have just accepted that we can't see a game out comfortably (we have next to little possession late on) and thus will have to defend deep. I feel the only positives now, as opposed to a month or so ago, are the shoring up of the defence with personnel change, and we appear to do the last ditch stuff that bit better. Still not good for my blood pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 4 minutes ago, lady-isobel-barnett said: But that's been the same story all season. We seem to have just accepted that we can't see a game out comfortably (we have next to little possession late on) and thus will have to defend deep. I feel the only positives now, as opposed to a month or so ago, are the shoring up of the defence with personnel change, and we appear to do the last ditch stuff that bit better. Still not good for my blood pressure. We got lucky against Airdrie, though, in that their strikers aren’t as good as Raith Rovers. Although I thought Neilson had a decent game on Friday he is a defender and is too close to the defence and not close enough to the forwards and Stanway kind of takes his cue from him, leaving the huge hole in midfield. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlgarveJag Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 We know Raith are more competent than Airdrie in the final third so we have to take control of the midfield to limit the supply. Bossing the midfield allows greater freedom for McMillan and Milne to be creative when Fitzy is being babysat by more than one defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl1971 Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 Can't see us bossing the midfield unless raith sit back. Our style is very much counter attacking, which can work with a decent defence, so I suspect much of the same. Think we have a 50/50 chance. No matter what looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 22 minutes ago, dl1971 said: Can't see us bossing the midfield unless raith sit back. Our style is very much counter attacking, which can work with a decent defence, so I suspect much of the same. Think we have a 50/50 chance. No matter what looking forward to it. If the fans bring the same energy I’ll raise that to 60/40 tomorrow night at least. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG1970 Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 (edited) 5 hours ago, Lenziejag said: We got lucky against Airdrie, though, in that their strikers aren’t as good as Raith Rovers. Although I thought Neilson had a decent game on Friday he is a defender and is too close to the defence and not close enough to the forwards and Stanway kind of takes his cue from him, leaving the huge hole in midfield. Neilson also looked like he was towing a caravan on Friday, looked really off the pace. I’d be happy to see Bannigan in and not sitting so close to our back line and not affording Raith the same amount of midfield dominance that Airdrie had. Edited May 13 by JAG1970 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenski Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 Bannigan in for Neilson for me too. I'd start with McBeth and Muirhead at the back, but be ready to bring on O'Reilly and push McBeth in to midfield depending how things are going. Last season we appeared to catch Ayr cold at this stage. Could that happen again? Rovers haven't had recent playoff experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 1 hour ago, JAG1970 said: Neilson also looked like he was towing a caravan on Friday, looked really off the pace. I’d be happy to see Bannigan in and not sitting so close to our back line and not affording Raith the same amount of midfield dominance that Airdrie had. I think he is getting a bit unfairly maligned for Friday. He started the move for the 1st goal and it was only in the last 10 minutes or so that he noticibly tired. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG1970 Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 46 minutes ago, Lenziejag said: I think he is getting a bit unfairly maligned for Friday. He started the move for the 1st goal and it was only in the last 10 minutes or so that he noticibly tired. Not having a pop at him, I like him, just think he was looking very tired on Friday for longer than the last 10 mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy McD Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 The Raith manager Ian Murray was at the game on Friday night, in the interview he said he was at the away game on Tuesday night, I have sat near him twice in the past few weeks, he must have a 200 hundred page dossier on us at least by now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 11 hours ago, JAG1970 said: Not having a pop at him, I like him, just think he was looking very tired on Friday for longer than the last 10 mins. To be fair, I thought that at the game too and was surprised McMillan went off and not him. However, when i rewatched it on tv, I noticed he’d had a better game than I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javeajag Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 Less than a 100 tickets left for JLS so should be another good crowd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 1 hour ago, javeajag said: Less than a 100 tickets left for JLS so should be another good crowd It would be good to know how many JHS tickets we’ve sold too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 Raith still got 300 to sell about an hour ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javeajag Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 Jls sold out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elevenone Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CotterJag Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 Looking forward to this one on the tele here in Corby. In a funny way, I think a 1 goal win for Thistle would suit both teams at this stage. Enjoy the game all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanieD Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 As long as the tie is still alive on Friday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 3 minutes ago, JeanieD said: As long as the tie is still alive on Friday Really ? I would be quite happy if we won 6 or 7 nil. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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