Club 30/11/2013
Match Preview: Dundee (Away)
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Dundee v Saturday 30th November 2013 Dens Park, Dundee Kick off: 3.00pm William Hill Scottish Cup Round 4 |
Admission Prices
Adults – £20
Concession* -£10
*Concessions are under 16, over 65, full time students and disabled
Match Preview:
Raith Rovers head to Dens Park on Saturday, aiming to reach the 5th Round of the Scottish Cup for the second consecutive season, as they take on a Dundee side who they lost to at the same venue, just three weeks ago.
Both sides go into the match after victories last weekend. Raith got back to winning ways with a 2-1 home win over Queen of the South, while Dundee had an impressive 3-0 away win at Hamilton, a result that moved them three points off the top of the table.
Dundee started the season in indifferent form, with just two wins from their first six games, but they’ve responded strongly, and are now the Championship’s form team, with six wins from their last eight league fixtures. That run included Raith’s first away loss of the season, a 2-0 defeat that also saw Rovers’ Callum Booth ordered off in the opening period.
This fixture has a habit of being a tight affair, with just sixteen goals scored in the last ten league meetings. Raith have only come out on top once in that time, back in April 2011, thanks to a last minute Allan Walker strike, but it’s a different story in the Scottish Cup, where Raith have won four and drawn one of the seven previous ties.
Historically, victories over Dundee in the Scottish Cup, coincide with good performances in the tournament for Raith Rovers, with the Taysiders disposed of during runs to the quarter-finals in 1995, and the semi-finals in 1951, and 2010.
What the Manager Said:
It was another comeback win on Saturday against Queen of the South, and it means that Raith have now won eleven points from losing positions this season, the best record in the league. Manager Grant Murray explained that when his team’s on form, he always has faith that they can produce a result, no matter the circumstances,
“Going behind and winning the game late on meant that the game ended up a bit more exciting for the fans, but we felt in the first half, that we could have went in at half-time a couple of goals up. I don’t think Queen of the South could have argued if we had, and they admitted as much after the game, when they spoke about our first-half performance.”
“I thought we created a lot of chances, and were back to playing how we know we can. It showed our battling qualities as well, in that we rebounded immediately after going a goal down. I thought Calum deserved his two goals for his performance, and it sums him up since he arrived at the club. His work rate has been fantastic since he joined, and even when he isn’t finishing chances, he’s normally involved in creating them. Thankfully for us on Saturday though, he managed to grab a couple.”
“Even when we go behind in games, I’m still confident we can win, as long as we’re playing like we did on Saturday. We struggled against Alloa the week before, and we came out afterwards and admitted that we’d underperformed on the day. However, when things click into place for us, I always feel that we’ve got goals in us, albeit we didn’t manage to get them in the first half. At half-time though, the players were still confident that they’d come along in the second half, and as we saw, they were right to have that confidence.”
With the exception of an away tie at a Premiership club, this weekend’s Scottish Cup tie at Dens Park could barely be tougher for Raith. While Murray admits that Dundee will head into the match as favourites, he believes that his side are more than capable of getting a result,
“Scottish Cup ties are great for the players and the fans. It gives everyone a wee break from the league, and has the potential to create a feel-good factor within the club. I always think that when two teams from the same league come together, things like past meetings and statistics can get thrown out the window, but in saying that, Dundee are showing great form at the moment.”
“We could hardly have got a trickier tie, going up there after Dundee’s fantastic win last weekend. From the scoreline, you’d have thought that it was an easy game for Dundee, but from the people who were there, they reported that it was reasonably close. However, they’ve went there and managed to score three goals against a Hamilton side who give very little away, so it was a good achievement from them. We’ll go there as underdogs, but if we play to our capabilities, we can be in that next round.”
“I’ve been a part of a few cup runs in my time as a player, and they can be a great confidence boos to a club, and really help to spur the players on. We’re really happy with where we currently are, and what we’ve achieved this season, but we always want more, and this week’s no different. We’re confident in ourselves that we can go there and get a result, which from a financial point of view, could give the club a massive boost, but most of all, we just want to be in the hat for the next round come ten to five on Saturday.”
Head-to-Head Scottish Cup Record at Dens Park:
Dundee wins: 1 | Draws: 1 | Raith Rovers wins: 3
Dundee Goals: 4 | Raith Rovers Goals: 6
Top Goalscorers in all Competitions:
Dundee: Peter MacDonald 13 | Ryan Conroy 5 | Craig Beattie 3
Raith Rovers: Calum Elliot 9 | Greig Spence 7 | Joe Cardle 5
Match Odds:
Dundee 20/21 | Draw 13/5 | Raith Rovers 14/5