Benedictus takes heart in push for promotion
IT could have been little consolation for Kyle Benedictus to hear David Martindale and Livingston’s players wax lyrical about Raith Rovers after dumping them out of the Scottish Cup. But he hopes the defeat will spur the Fifers on to a re-match with the Lions in next season’s Premiership.
The impressive Rovers did not look out of place against their top-flight opponents and Benedictus believes it has given the team confidence they can go toe-to-toe with Scotland’s elite.
“It’s credit to ourselves again,” the Raith captain said. “I think we’ve shown people what we’re all about. We’re disappointed but still confident going into the last five games in the league. It can only help our confidence, they’re top five in the Premiership and credit to where they are.”
Lewis Vaughan’s stunning free-kick had Raith dreaming of a fourth-round tie only for Jack Fitzwater to volley home late on to send the game into extra time. With the guests looking increasingly tired, Matej Poplatnik ghosted in to space to tap home a winner to break Rovers’ hearts.
“Now it’s back to league business, we have five important games now and need to focus on that,” Benedictus, 29, added. “That’s our bread and butter and we’ve given ourselves a real good chance of the play-offs.”
For Fitzwater, it was a win which cemented Livi’s recent return to form having finally got over a heartbreaking Betfred Cup final loss in February.
“We went to challenge ourselves, we’ve cemented the top six now and we have kick on now, whether that’s finishing in the top four or seeing how far we go in the cup so that is definitely on our minds,” the 23-year-old said.