BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
GARY Locke has joked he was preparing to field chief executive Eric Drysdale in goal at the weekend before Raith Rovers finally got international clearance to sign Conor Brennan just hours before facing Dundee United.
With Kevin Cuthbert sidelined with a problematic dead leg and on-loan Aberdeen keeper Aaron Lennox ruled out with a hamstring injury, Locke was left frantically seeking back-up last week.
He turned to Brennan, who he worked with at Kilmarnock, and lined up the Northern Ireland under-21 cap on a short-term deal until January.
But there was an anxious wait as the Stark’s Park men sorted out ‘paperwork complications’ with just a couple of hours to spare before the 22-year-old could finally be cleared to make his debut in the 2-2 draw with Dundee United.
Locke, whose side bounced back from going 2-0 down to take a point with stunning strikes from Jordan Thompson and Kevin McHattie, said: “He did well because it was a big ask for Conor.
“I know all about him, I had him at Kilmarnock and he’s a Northern Ireland under-21 international.
“We were panicking because we didn’t get clearance for him until Saturday morning – and it looked like we were maybe going to have to play Eric in goals!
“That was a worry for us, but he did well in the game; he settled into it.”
Locke added on Raith TV: “But to get good results at places like Tannadice, you’ve got to be good collectively and, apart from the first 25 minutes, I thought we were really, really good.”
@IainCollin
