Following in his father’s footsteps at Raith Rovers

It was a case of like father, like son at Stark’s Park in February 2009 as Steven Hislop made his Raith Rovers debut against Alloa Athletic.
Raith Rovers Steven Hislop (right) is pictured with his dad, and former Rovers player, John, and his son Ben after he joined the Stark's Park side in 2007.Raith Rovers Steven Hislop (right) is pictured with his dad, and former Rovers player, John, and his son Ben after he joined the Stark's Park side in 2007.
Raith Rovers Steven Hislop (right) is pictured with his dad, and former Rovers player, John, and his son Ben after he joined the Stark's Park side in 2007.

Watching from the stand was proud dad John, a fellow striker in his day, who was beginning a four-year spell at the Kirkcaldy club 24 years earlier.

Hislop senior was a regular in the Raith side that won promotion in 1975-76, and said he hoped 28-year-old Steven (28), could emulate that achievement in his first season at the club.

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”I’ve looked at the goals for column and the team are not prolific scorers,” John said.

John McGlynn and the players have got themselves into a great position but they have not been scoring a lot of goals.

“Hopefully, that’s what Steven can do and help the club get promoted.”

History repeated itself as Steven matched his father’s scoring debut in the 3-0 win, albeit With the aid of a few fortunate deflections. ”There was a wee bit of pressure on Saturday because my dad scored on his debut as well so he can’t hold that one over me,” Steven told the Press.

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“I know the referee put it down as an own goal but if Jeff Stelling says it’s my goal on Sky Sports then it is!”

John was a regular spectator at all Steven’s matches, and was never shy of expressing his opinion on his son’s performances.

”As the saying goes you’re probably harder on your own, and while I’ve mellowed in my constructive criticism, I’ll always give advice,” John said.

”He’s a better player than I was but he’s not had his injury problems to seek.”

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While Raith were John’s only professional club he spent most of his playing days in the juniors, Rovers were Steven’s sixth senior team at that point.

He first broke onto the scene at East Stirling where his record of a goal every two games saw him win a move to Ross County.

More prolific goalscoring resulted in a switch to Inverness Caley and his goals helped the club to the SPL but then his injury nightmare began.

”I ruptured my knee and I was told I might never play again. Fortunately surgery saved my career.”

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Steven was transferred to Gillingham for £50,000 but failed to win a regular place and moved back to Scotland to sign for Livingston, but injury continued to plague him.

“I injured my ankle ligaments at Gillingham and had a double hernia at Livingston,” Steven explained.

”Sometimes I wish I could get a normal injury like a groin strain or a calf strain but hopefully that’s my bit of bad luck over and I can build from here.”

So the Hislop name was back at Stark’s Park and Steven said he was happy to drop down and was aiming to help Rovers get promotion.

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“I’m not embarrassed to drop to the Second Division,” he said, “the good thing is that I’ve now scored in every division from the Third to the SPL, which is a good wee thing to have.

“The boys here are all technically very good and we played them with Livingston and pre-season and they beat us.

”I’ve been a wee bit disillusioned with the way the past two seasons have gone, so whether I play part-time or football in the future is neither here nor there.”

In the end, Steven’s wish came true, winning a Second Division title medal when Rovers won the league two years later in 2009.