Sam Stanton has been a key figure for Raith Rovers in this season’s Fife derbies – and is hoping to have yet another reason to produce his trademark celebration.
The midfielder has scored in three of the five meetings with Dunfermline so far this term.
Two of those goals have been outright winners in 1-0 victories, whilst the other helped cement a thumping 3-0 triumph in the Scottish Cup at East End Park.
Each strike has been followed by the 29-year-old running away with his hands held aloft making the shape of a heart.
It is a celebration that is a tribute to his family, with partner Mhairi and kids Nathan, Callen and Ayda usually in the stands watching on.
Given his record in the current campaign, the chances seem pretty high that Stark’s Park could see the Stanton love-in one more time against the Pars.
He said: “It’s a great feeling to score the winner in a derby.
“Scoring a goal at any time is great but in a derby it’s a bit better, just because of the occasion, I suppose, and what it means to people. It’s nice.
“The little celebration I do is for my family, for my missus and my kids.
Stanton: ‘Give something back to family’
“They show me a lot of support, so I think it’s nice for me to kind of give them something back.
“I like scoring goals and that’s just to show them it’s for them as well.
“They come to most games and if they can’t be there for whatever reason they’ll always try to find a way to watch the game.
“They constantly support me, which is great.
“It’s something I always remember to do. Now, it’s just an instinct thing that comes when I see the ball hitting the net.
“It’s just something I like to do and they like it as well, which is important.”
Although Raith have enjoyed the bragging rights against Dunfermline this season, winning the last four clashes, they go into Saturday’s game on the back of bitter disappointment.
Two goals up against Arbroath last Friday, the Kirkcaldy outfit suffered a late collapse to lose 3-2 and miss the chance to go three points clear at the top of the Championship.
Instead, although Dundee United could only draw with Partick Thistle the following day, Rovers are now four points adrift after the Tangerines beat Morton in midweek.
They do have a game in hand, against Partick on Tuesday, but the visit of the Pars is just another potentially pivotal moment in the destiny of the title.
‘Plenty of games to go’
Stanton added: “The games don’t get any bigger than this one in this league, so we’re obviously all looking forward to it.
“Friday night was a disappointment but we need to move on and it’s good to have the derby.
“We just need to pick up as many points as we can between now and the end of the season, and see what happens.
“There’s still plenty of games to go.
“We’re unbeaten in five derbies against them this season and I don’t know what it is.
“We’ve done well in the games, although all the games have been really tight apart from our 3-0 win in the Scottish Cup.
“We definitely deserved to win that night, but all the other games have been really close.
“The two 1-0 wins could potentially have gone either way and they just happen to have gone our way, which was great.
“It’s the story of the season, really. We always dig in right to the end of games and it’s been working for us.
“Dunfermline are a good team so we know this one will be another tough game for us.”
‘True for most derbies’
After beginning his career with the Edinburgh derby at Hibernian, Stanton has played for United in the Dundee clashes and for Dundalk against rivals Drogheda.
“A lot of them are similar,” he explained. “They’re all very fiery and they all mean a lot to supporters and players.
“I think that’s probably true for most derbies. They mean so much to people.
“Regardless of which one I’ve been involved in, they all have that same sort of feeling.”
