Raith Rovers skipper Jason Thomson is looking forward to another rip-roaring Fife Derby this weekend when his side travel to Central Park to take on Cowdenbeath. The two league meetings this season have produced late drama as well as 13 goals and Thomson is hoping that a win over the Blue Brazil will send the Kirkcaldy men back towards the promotion play-off zone.
The former Hearts player and his team-mates have been a top four side for 18 rounds of fixtures out of 21 however a five game run without a win has seen Raith drop off the pace but only on goal difference.
Despite this dip there is no despondency at Stark’s Park with Thomson saying: “Overall the season has been a success so far. We started really well in the league and had a terrific run in the Ramsdens Cup as well as giving Hearts a real fright in the Scottish League Cup.”
“Our good start might have surprised some people but it never surprised us. We had a decent run where we won a few games and had a lot of belief. We had a few breaks with no injuries or suspensions and that helped as our squad is not the biggest.”
That has caught with us recently and we have had a sticky patch but we are sitting just off the play-off places so there is a lot to be happy about.”
Raith’s fine run early in the season was not something that had been predicted with Thomson saying: “Being in the play-offs was never really mentioned by the players during the summer but we eventually got round to discussing it once we had made such a good start. Of course we are looking at it now as a target but you have to be wary in this league.”
“We are 9 points off the top of the league and 9 points off second bottom. It is really tight so we just concentrate on the next game and take things from there.”
Thomson would certainly enjoy being the skipper of a play-off bound side as he explained: “It is my first season as captain of the club and it is something I am really enjoying. The manager Grant Murray and his assistant Paul ‘Smudger’ Smith asked me to take over the role when Allan Walker left for Brechin in the summer.”
“A few other boys had moved on as well so they thought I would be the best person for the role.”
It is not just a playing or a community role as Thomson explained: “ As well as the on the field stuff I am also in charge of the fines and all I can say is that the players had a good Christmas night out in December.”
“Getting fined was suspended in January but it will be back in place this weekend. I enjoy that side of interacting with all the boys.”
It is not just his role in boosting the players’ fund that saw Thomson chosen as captain at Stark’s Park.
Being available played a huge part as the 26 year old advised: “”Another reason they may have chosen me is that I have been very fortunate to be available for selection on a really consistent basis. I had a few injuries earlier in my career but I have stayed match fit really well since I came here.”
“I was fit enough to play every minute in every game of last season which I am pretty proud of. I was suspended once and this season I had played every minute of every game until I was sent off against Dundee midway through the second half just at the New Year.”
“I then missed the whole game against Morton the following week which was pretty frustrating. In fact it has been an up and down time for me recently. I am not used to missing games and I am not used to scoring own goals and I did that against Livingston last month as well.”
There was a bright spot in December as well with Thomson explaining: “However it has not been all bad as I scored my first ever goal for Raith Rovers. In fact it was our last match-winning goal and it came in the win over Dumbarton before Christmas.”
“We were one up but under a lot of pressure as Joe Cardle had been sent off but we caught Dumbarton with a breakaway. I broke forward with Grant Anderson and it was a race between the two of us over who would get a shot in. That was the night of our Christmas night out so I must have been determined to have something to boast about as I managed to beat Grant to the goal.”
Raith do not travel far this weekend as they go looking for the win that will get them moving up the way again with Thomson saying: “We have Cowdenbeath this weekend and that should be a really good game. The two games so far this season have produced 13 goals. I had a hand in one of them as I was brought down when we were losing 3-2 in the last minute at their place to get us a penalty.”
“The Cowdenbeath fans were not happy with that decision and they were even worse a minute later when we got another one and won the game 4-3. It was 3-3 at our place when they scored late.”
“I don’t know why the two games have been so high scoring but they have been great for the fans. It will be good to get the win we need to get going in the league again.”
Thomson added: “We were confident of getting something from Alloa last weekend however that was called off so we will look to get the 3 points at Central Park. We want to get the win and be heading to Easter Road to face Hibs in the Scottish Cup next weekend in a confident mood.”
“It is the smaller of the Fife Derbies but it is still a very passionate affair. The Dunfermline and Raith game earlier this season was a good Fife Derby as well as the bigger of the two, but it is a derby so it will be tightly contested.”
As for the rest of the season Thomson said: “Our objective has to be to get into the top four and stay there. This is only the second time we have been out of the top four after getting in there in week 2. We will go to Cowdenbeath and be positive but they have their own reasons for wanting to win the game.”
“You cannot say what will happen in any game in this league as no-one would have thought that Cowdenbeath would have gone to Hamilton last week and scored 4 times in a row. We know that they can score goals and keep going until the final whistle.”
Off the field Thomson’s club have received plenty of praise in the build up to this game after they went public on plans for a new away strip for next season that will mark the sacrifice players at the club made during the First World War.
Back in 1914 Sir George McCrae raised a battalion of sportsmen to fight in the First World War, with seven Kirkcaldy based players joining up along with other footballers from Hearts and other clubs.
Their battalion which was known as the 16th Royal Scots took part in action including the Battle of the Somme and Passchendaele, and three Stark’s Park players — Jimmy Todd, Jimmy Scott and George McLay — lost their lives during the fighting.
To mark the centenary of the War starting Raith have launched a special black and green Hunting Stewart tartan strip to mark the centenary of the formation of McCrae’s Battalion.
Instead of a sponsors’ logo on the chest, there will be the word ‘Remember’ and a tribute to McCrae’s Battalion.
Thomson is keen to don the new colours as he explained: “When I played with Hearts I was fortunate to get one of their jerseys with a poppy on it. That is on display in my house and hopefully I will get one of the new away strips.”
“That is if Raith have me back for next season.”
It would be safe to assume that they do.
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