Aidan Connolly reckons his stint on the sidelines underscores the fierce competition for places at Raith Rovers.
However, the former Dundee United winger has vowed to graft for his place.
Connolly has not started a fixture for Rovers since a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Ayr United on December 26, having endured a slump in form following a splendid start to the campaign.
However, he entered the fray against Banks O’Dee on Saturday looking like a man on a mission, creating the opener for Sam Stanton — rather fortuitously — before making it 3-0 in the dying embers.
Matej Poplatnik scored the other goal for the Fifers as they teed up a Scottish Cup last-16 clash with Celtic.
“I played a big part early in the season and have found myself out of the team,” said Connolly. “But that’s football. I’ve been through that before.
“I’m old enough to know there will be periods when you are out of the team. During that time, you’ve just got to work even harder and win your place back.
“You have someone like Matej [Poplatnik] coming on and making an impact, too.
“You want that fierce competition for places in your squad — particularly if you want to do well and challenge at the top of end of the league.”
Connolly’s strike took him to six goals for the campaign, while he boasts four assists — or five, if you included the deflected free-kick which led to Stanton’s strike on Saturday (video below).
🎥 // Sam Stanton's first goal for Raith, and a pivotal one to break the deadlock vs Banks O'Dee and help tee up a trip to Celtic
That assist from @aidanconnolly3 — what vision 👏🤔 pic.twitter.com/m5c10MVBMj
— Alan Temple (@alanftemple) January 23, 2022
“The boys are telling me it’s an assist — I’m not sure about that,” laughed Connolly. “But I’ll take it!
“I want to get double figures for the season but the team comes first.”
Blips
Having ended a five game winless streak, Raith can now turn their attention back to Championship duty with renewed vigour, with a televised trip to face Morton on the horizon this Friday night.
“Because we did so well at the start of the season, that blip was notable,” added Connolly. “But that happens in football and the other teams up there — Arbroath and whoever else — are going to have blips as well.
“So, hopefully we can build momentum and kick on for Friday’s game.”
