Raith plotis to see off rivals after humbling
Raith Rovers midfielder Dan Armstrong has called on his team-mates to banish the painful memories of Friday night’s thumping by Hearts and concentrate on the forthcoming play-off clash with Fife rivals Dunfermline.
Armstrong only played for half of his team’s 4-0 defeat, having been thrown into the fray at the interval by which time Rovers were 2-0 down.
“It was a tough one to take” said the 23-year-old. “Hearts are a good side. They played like that throughout the season. They have quality in their squad so we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
“It was a difficult night but we just have to dust ourselves down now, put that result behind us and look forward to going full throttle into the play-offs.”
Armstrong, who has established himself as a regular in the Raith side over the course of the current campaign, is not allowing the defeat by Hearts to take the shine away from what his side have achieved .
“If anyone had said to us at the beginning of the season that Raith would finish third in the table, then we wouldn’t have believed them” he said. “It’s disappointing not to have taken second place but we can look forward to the play-offs.
“I’ve never actually taken part in the play-offs before. When I was at Ross County we managed to avoid them by winning the league and although I was involved in the build up when I was on loan at Dunfermline, I didn’t play in any of the games so this my first real experience of them.”
The very thought of the two Fife sides clashing with so much at stake is mouth-watering and the outcome is very much on a knife edge considering the last two derbies with Dunfermline thrashing Raith 5-1 in February and Rovers responding with a 4-1 victory when the teams met again in March.
“Dunfermline are a good side,” acknowledged Armstrong. “We will need to play well to beat anyone in this league and I’m sure if we can put the disappointment of Friday night’s game behind us and play at our best then we can progress in the play-offs. It’s just disappointing that there will be no supporters allowed in. This place would be jumping if fans were able to attend a game like that.
“I’m sure they’ll be watching from home and hopefully we can do something for them.”