Raith Rovers forward Grant Anderson hopes Dumbarton winner ‘answered a few questions’

Dumbarton v Raith Rovers - Grant Anderson celebrates scoring - credit- Fife Photo Agency

The decision to sign the 32-year-old from Stranraer during the summer raised eyebrows among the Rovers support, particularly when it was revealed he would be utilised as a centre-forward, having spent four years on the wing in his first stint at Stark’s Park.

However, his well-timed run and superbly-taken finish 11 minutes from time on Saturday will have gone some way towards proving himself as a player to be relied upon for goals this season.

“Hopefully I answered a few questions with that,” he said.

“You’ll know from the last time I was here that I always give 110 per cent.

“Sometimes it will work for me and sometimes it won’t.

“I wouldn’t say it was a sterling performance – but I did plenty good things and I got on the end of a brilliant ball from Brad and managed to finish it.

“To get off the mark in the first league game is ideal. That’s exactly what I want.

“They had a player here last year who scored the most goals Raith have scored in many a season, so it’s big shoes to fill.

“But the gaffer has shown faith in me to come back here and help in that department.

“I got a couple in pre-season and I’ve managed to get one in the first league game, so long may it continue.”

It was a case of perseverance paying off for Anderson after being caught offside several times in the match before timing his run to perfection for the winner.

“That’s something I’ve got to work on – it was the same last year,” he said.

“I’m not naturally a centre-forward, but I’ll always make that run.

“It’s the same run that gets us the goal.

“You’ll maybe be offside four or five times, so that one time you’re not offside, you’ve got to make it count.

“Happily, I managed to do that.”

Anderson praised the noisy travelling support and was pleased to be deliver a win, despite leaving room for improvement in the performance.

“It was a good crowd and they got right behind us,” he said.

“The noise they made when we scored was excellent and that really does help when it comes to that point in the game and the situation we were in.

“It wasn’t the prettiest of games but we’ve managed to grind something out.

“We tried to go a bit more direct in the second half and it’s worked.

“That’s not our style of football, but needs must.

“The guys were saying that one of the problems last year was a lack of clean sheets and three points on the road, so to get that in the first game sets us up well for the rest of the games.”