Aidan Connolly thinks the headed goals that earned Raith Rovers their seventh win in 10 Championship matches were the first of his senior career.
The fit again forward returned to the Rovers side for Tuesday night’s win over Greenock Morton in his first league start since last season, which coincidentally came at the same venue.
Both of his goals came via his head.
And he believes they are the first headers he’s scored since he signed a professional contract.
“I was just saying in there, the last header I scored was under-17s or something like that when I was at Queen’s Park,” said Connolly.
“Maybe I’ll need to start marking the big fellas at corners!
“The main thing is the three points and the boys are buzzing.”
Aidan Connolly: It’s nice to be back
Connolly has been fully fit for a number of weeks now but has had to wait for opportunities.
He grasped his with both hands on Tuesday night.
“It’s been a while, it’s taken me time to get up to speed,” added Connolly. “Six months or something, it’s difficult. It’s nice to be back, I’ve had to be patient.
“To be honest, when I scored the second, I was laughing to myself: ‘I can’t believe this has happened.”
⏩ And then 15 minutes later…
It was Ross Millen who fired it in, falling perfectly to Aidan Connolly to head home once again. pic.twitter.com/tpKOSw1SZQ
— Raith Rovers Football Club (@RaithRovers) November 1, 2023
Raith Rovers’ top scorer for the last two seasons has now put himself in with a shout of topping the charts for a third time after just one league start.
His double has him level on goals with Sam Stanton, behind only Callum Smith, Dylan Easton and Lewis Vaughan.
He welcomes the increased competition – and that’s with a few players still working their way back to fitness.
“There’s a lot of competition, you want that,” said Connolly.
Returning Raith players
“There’s a lot of forward players, we still have Jamie Gullan and Jack Hamilton, as well as Dylan Corr, Keith Watson and Ross Matthews to come back.
“That’s four or five bodies looking to start in the team. So once they’re back there’ll be even more competition.
“It’s going to be hard, everyone is going to need to fight for a spot.
“Physically, I’ve been fine – I’ve been fine for a while. The boys have been doing well, so I’ve had to be patient for my opportunity.”
Rovers manager Ian Murray said Connolly had been looking sharp in training ahead of his first league start since April.
“I didn’t envisage Aidan would score two headers,” said Murray. “I’m delighted for him, he’s such a valuable player.”
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