Aidan Connolly insistent so-called Caley curse won’t count for anything as Raith Rovers seek first league win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in over 20 years

Aidan Connolly celebrating after putting Raith Rovers 1-0 up against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Stark's Park in Kirkcaldy in March, though he and the eight team-mates left on the pitch come the final whistle weren't celebrating then, having gone 3-2 down (Photo by Craig Brown/SNS Group)

Raith Rovers might not have beaten Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the league for over 20 years, but that history favouring the Highlanders won’t matter a jot once the two sides square up at Kirkcaldy’s Stark’s Park this weekend, according to winger Aidan Connolly.

The Dundee-born 27-year-old put Rovers ahead the last time the teams met, in Fife in March, only to see their visitors snatch victory with two goals in as many minutes right at the death, and he was also on the scoresheet the previous time they met here, a 1-1 draw last October.

Connolly might well be hoping that particular history of scoring against Caley repeats itself but he’s insistent that the scoreline come the final whistle at the weekend will be about how the 22 players on the pitch acquit themselves rather than what’s happened over the preceding 22 years, a run of results dubbed the Caley curse by Raith fans.

Raith go into this weekend’s game sitting sixth in the Scottish Championship with six points from five games, one point and two places better off than their visitors, beaten 1-0 at home by Greenock Morton on Saturday and 4-1 away by Partick Thistle the previous weekend.

Raith Rovers winger Aidan Connolly taking on Partick Thistle's Aidan Fitzpatrick during their Scottish Championship match last weekend at Firhill Stadium in Glasgow (Photo by Mark Scates/SNS Group)

“It’s always going to be a tough game,” said Connolly.

“I think everyone’s maybe a bit surprised at the start Inverness have had, but this is a tough league and it’s going to be a tough game.

“You can look at these stats but every game’s different.”

Connolly acknowledges that the sides’ last meeting, a game Raith ended with only nine men on the pitch following red cards for Kyle Benedictus and Ben Williamson, will give Caley hope of taking home all three points again but equally reckons Rovers will be out to make amends after being in front until a minute shy of the 90th only to be left without so much as a single point.

“Of course they’ll have confidence coming here because they beat us last time, but it’s a new season and it’s a new team for us, so hopefully it’ll be us collecting three points,” he said.

“That one was a bit crazy – it was a crazy game – but we’ve got a lot of new boys in and it’s a new season, so it’s a fresh start for everyone.”

Connolly also reckons the arrival of new manager Ian Murray could prove a potential inspiration for a change in fortunes against Caley.

“The new manager’s come in and he’s given confidence to a lot of the players, and that’s a big thing these days,” he said.

“Players need confidence to play at their best and obviously coaching and man management are a big part of that, so hopefully we can pick up more positive results.

“It’s going to take a while for everyone to settle in but it seems to be happening.

“We’ve had two wins and three defeats, so hopefully we can get another win this weekend, and it’s such a tight league that if we win on Saturday, it’ll take us right up there again.

“Every season’s so tough and there are so many ups and downs, but we know what it’s like. We just need to take every game as it comes and work hard every game and see what happens come the end of the season.

“It’s a tight league and it’s going to be tight from top to bottom.

“Every game’s hard and you need to battle. You need to win your second balls and you need to keep your team fit to get results.”

Monday’s SPFL Trust Trophy third-round draw sees Raith facing Cove Rangers away at the end of the month and Connolly, at Stark’s Park since July last year, is also insistent that his side’s record of just one win in four competitive fixtures against the Aberdonians, the most recent being a 2-0 away defeat on the opening day of the current league campaign at the end of July, won’t count for anything come the weekend of September 24 and 25.

“This is a trophy we won last season and we want to go on a run again because we know how good it was, but it’s going to be a tough game again as Cove are a good side,” he said.

“Every game’s different and the game we played against Cove at the start of the season will be different to the one we play in a few weeks’ time.

“We’ve got to take each game as it comes but hopefully we can go on a run again this year. It was so good last year to win the trophy and hopefully we can match that.

“The fans were buzzing once we won that trophy so they know we can win something. It was a tough run we had but we won it.”