The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Goalie Rover-joyed at family reunion
Raith Rovers goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald admits he has taken his membership of the goalkeeping union to the next level after revealing his family link with Jack Hamilton.
The pair will be at opposite ends of the pitch this afternoon at Stark’s Park when Morton are the visitors.
But the shot-stoppers are sure to remain on speaking terms regardless of the result as they are also brothers-in-law.
MacDonald’s wife Roxzannah is the sister of Hamilton’s wife Stephanie.
Former Hearts and Kilmarnock goalkeeper MacDonald said: “There is the goalkeepers’ union but this probably takes it to another level with us being brothers-in-law.
“I have known Jack since he was about 14, 15, when he came through at Hearts and was third-choice keeper in 2012.
“He’s a great lad.
“It’s nice to have someone like that you can speak to but also by the same token we don’t always speak about football, as sometimes it’s nice to have a break from it when you are involved in it so much.
“In the build up to when we play each other, the phones do go a bit quieter, we don’t really speak that much.
“It’s probably more after the games we’ll speak or if he has played against a team that I’m about to play, then we might speak about how they played and things like that.
“I’m really happy for Jack that he’s back playing regular football at Morton as he’s been unfortunate with injuries over the last little while.
“But he’s playing well now and hopefully that continues for him, although obviously I’ll be hoping for a Raith win today.”
Raith, whose manager John McGlynn was named Championship manager of the month for October, are looking to keep the pressure on Kilmarnock at the summit and extend their 10-game unbeaten run.
McGlynn’s side are second in the league, three points adrift of the Ayrshire outfit.
MacDonald said: “We’re happy with how things are doing just now, we’re 10 unbeaten, nine in the league and one in the cup and hopefully we can continue that.
“We played really well in our last game against Hamilton.
“We’ve done well and with that we’re in touch with the teams at the top.
“There is a little gap forming between maybe the top five and bottom five but this league is so competitive and you need to be on it in every game.”
Morton manager Gus MacPherson, whose side are only two points clear of bottom team Dunfermline, said: “It’s another tough game away from home.
“Raith had a fantastic result last week.
“We know every single game in this division is tough, you’ve got to be close to your best, defend properly at key moments.
“We didn’t do that last week against Kilmarnock but we’ve got to learn from it and move on.”