The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Musonda’ s feeling the derby rivalry
Frankie Musonda thought he was going to be Raith Rovers’ hero the last time Dunfermline visited Stark’s Park – only to have his hopes dashed.
Now, he is desperate to help make up for previous derby disappointments after learning quickly how much the rivalry matters to the fans.
The defender joined Rovers from Luton Town in the summer and insists it has not taken him long to discover what the fixture means to the locals.
The 23-year-old bundled in his side’s second when the teams squared up in Kirkcaldy back in December, only for the celebrations to be cut short when Dunfermline scored twice inside 60 seconds to earn a draw.
Any thoughts of Raith gaining revenge were swept away in a 4-1 drubbing at East End Park in February.
But Musonda knows the stakes are high this evening as both teams chase vital points in the hunt for promotion play-off places.
With Raith sitting second on goal difference, he said: “You can see looking at the table how close it is from second to seventh, there’s not much in it at all.
“But the manager has been saying to us that we’re fortunate enough now to be in a position where we’re not reliant on other results.
“As long as we keep performing, we should be in a good position, so it’s up to us.
“We haven’t beaten Dunfermline so far this season. They’re clearly a good side and both games have been tough.
“We were gutted to give up the two-goal lead the first time we played them.
“I was hoping I had scored the clinching goal – but two from them in two minutes changed the whole game.
“And it was obviously a really disappointing loss away from home.
“We definitely want to bounce back from that one and put on a good performance.
“I feel like I’ve bought into the club and when I’ve bumped into fans or when I’ve had messages on social media, it definitely feels like there’s that added edge for the derby games compared to a normal league game.
“Obviously, the mentality and determination to win is still the same, regardless, but there’s definitely that slight edge on derby day.
“I feel the rivalry already and it’s a game I’m really looking forward to.
“We’re going into it confident but we know we’re up against a very good side and everyone will need to be at it for us to get a good result.”
Musonda is crucial to the way John McGlynn wants Raith to play, the centrehalf ’s calmness on the ball helping to build attacks from deep with controlled passing.
It is a style that is easy on the eye and, given their current position as runners-up to runaway leaders Hearts, one that clearly gets results.
They had to show patience to seal Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Morton but Musonda insists it is a game-plan that the whole squad has bought into.
He added: “The way the manager wants to play and my strengths are a good fit.
“He likes to play a passing game and that’s one of my strengths in terms of how I like to play the game.
“I’ve really enjoyed it so far, working with him and the team.
“There’s definitely more we can do to keep improving but the consistency has been pretty good and hopefully we can continue that to the end of the season.
“We’re definitely going in with the intention to put on a good performance and hopefully to get a win.”