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Raith Rovers v Alloa: Fifers out to stay in touch with leaders

Greig Spence celebrates scoring to give Raith Rovers a late lead in the Ramsdens Cup quarter-final against Falkirk two weeks ago.
Greig Spence celebrates scoring to give Raith Rovers a late lead in the Ramsdens Cup quarter-final against Falkirk two weeks ago.

Raith Rovers striker Greig Spence is hoping his side can capitalise on home advantage against Alloa and stay in touch with the teams above them in the promotion race.

The Kirkcaldy club will welcome the Wasps to Stark’s Park on the back of last weekend’s 1-0 win down in Dumfries, and boss Grant Murray will be looking to the division’s joint top scorer Spence to continue his rich vein of form for Rovers.

The 21-year-old admits he is “on fire” with the Fifers just now after recovering from a troublesome thigh strain, and has netted winners in Raith’s last two fixtures against Falkirk in the Ramsdens Cup and against Queen of the South in the league seven days ago.

His four league goals have put him top of the Championship scoring charts alongside Falkirk’s Philip Roberts, and Spence will no doubt be looking to add to that tally against his former club Alloa.

However, with securing a top four spot the ultimate aim for Raith, it will be all about the three points first and foremost for the forward.

“I think we need to try and win all our home games that’s our aim,” he said.

“We’ve got to set out to try and get three points, but we know it will be tough because Alloa have just come up and have been playing well.

“We’ve just got to work hard yet again and try to kick on.

“It’s early in the season, but you don’t want teams opening up big gaps at the top end of the table, so it was nice to get a victory against Queen of the South.

“The boys dug in really well and it was a real team effort.

“The new boys have come in and I think everyone is getting on well you can see we’re all in it together.

“Everyone connected with the club is chipping in together and trying to be as successful as possible.

“I think there’s no one who is going to run away with the league this year, so if we can keep picking up points and keep ourselves at that end of the table you never know what could happen.

“Come Christmas, we could be up there challenging and we’ve just got to keep plugging away.”

Spence’s first-half tap-in was enough to earn Rovers an impressive victory at Palmerston Park last week, and see them take full points from a place where no team was able to record a win in the whole of last season’s league campaign.

“I thought the game could have gone either way the first 20 minutes they were probably on top, but we managed to get a ball across the box and I was where I should be to get another goal,” he added.

“I had worked on my movement during the week, and that’s where the gaffer wants me to be, so I was happy enough to finish it.

“Sometimes after an injury it can take a few weeks, or maybe a month or so, to get back to sharpness, but that’s two winners I’ve scored in two games, so I’m happy with that.”

Raith sit third in the Championship table on eight points, while Alloa, where Spence broke into first-team football as a 16-year-old before moving to Celtic, are just a point back in fifth spot ahead of today’s game.

Boss Grant Murray has been happy enough with his side’s start to the season and hopes it can continue.

Murray said: “It has been a case of so far and so good with six wins, two draws, one loss on penalties to a SPFL Premiership side and one defeat from the league leaders Hamilton.

“Long may this form continue.

“In a number of ways, the Alloa game will be a lot like the Queen of the South game that we had last week.

“They have not long finished a season where they have got used to winning most weeks and have had a reasonable start to this one.

“Having won away from home at Queen of the South, there is an onus of expectation in terms of winning this one.

“We have shown that we can handle things well this season and hopefully that will see us secure our first league win at home.”