The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Hampden goal fulfilled a dream for striker Liam
RAITH: Win sets Rovers up for a mouthwatering Fife derby in next round
QUEEN’S PARK 0 RAITH ROVERS 3
Liam Buchanan savoured his Scottish Cup goal at Hampden as Raith Rovers set up a fourth round tie against local rivals Dunfermline.
The eagerly-anticipated Fife derby, to take place at Stark’s Park on the weekend of January 19/20, was Rovers’ reward for a convincing 3-0 win over Queen’s Park at the national stadium.
Buchanan was on target as the Kirkcaldy side went 2-0 up at the break, following up Kevin Nisbet’s early opener with his 205th career goal, before Nathan Flanagan added a third in the second half.
Buchanan said: “I’m still a wee boy at heart.
“I score anywhere and it means a lot to me, even in training, but to do it at the national stadium is great.
“It’s always good to get goals as a striker, it builds your confidence, but more importantly we won the match.
“We knew coming here it was going to be a difficult game, but we knew we could take advantage of the big pitch and good surface.
“If you’ve guys like Danny and Flanny delivering crosses like they do, we know we just needed to be in the box, and twice we got on the end of them.
“It’s important for the club to get a good run in the cup, and as players we want to be in the hat for the next round.”
Rovers survived an early scare when Euan East’s cross deflected on to the crossbar, but the opener came at the other end on 11 minutes as Daniel Armstrong skipped to the by-line before cutting back for Nisbet to back-heel home his 18th goal of the season.
Raith added a second in the 24th minute with Buchanan getting on the end of Ross Matthews’ low ball into the box to touch it into the far corner of the net.
The League Two hosts were struggling to contain Raith’s front line and Nisbet almost added a third before the break when he headed against the post.
The Spiders tried to fight back early in the second half but Rovers made sure of the outcome on 57 minutes when Flanagan raced into the box before stroking the ball beyond Jordan Hart.
Raith were home and dry but they needed the woodwork to preserve their clean sheet as Scott McLean rattled the underside of the bar from 30 yards.
Raith boss John McGlynn said: “I thought it was an excellent performance.
“We played the right way, and exactly how I wanted to play. I’m very proud of the players because Queen’s have shown they are a very good team.
“That was a potential banana skin for us, but we overcame that with a professional performance.”