Raith Rovers have nothing to fear after running Livingston close - Regan Hendry

Playmaker Regan Hendry believes Raith Rovers should have nothing to fear after giving Premiership side Livingston a run for their money in the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
Livingston v Raith  - REGAN HENDRY - credit- Fife Photo AgencyLivingston v Raith  - REGAN HENDRY - credit- Fife Photo Agency
Livingston v Raith - REGAN HENDRY - credit- Fife Photo Agency

Rovers took the lead in the first half through John Baird, which they held until the 77th minute when an unfortunate penalty decision for handball against Iain Davidson turned the match, with the favourites going on to win 3-1.

Raith return to League One matters this Saturday at home to Montrose and Hendry, who turned 22 this week, believes they can take confidence into the rest of the campaign.

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“For 77 minutes we played well and did exactly what the game plan was,” he said.

“We got the goal and defended as well as we could.

“They didn’t really create much but they got the penalty, which some of the boys said was soft, and you could see the boys were knackered after that.

“It took the wind out of us quite a bit and we end up losing 3-1 but there’s a lot to look forward to because we played well.

“You could tell they play at a higher level with the way they were swarming us in the first half, especially when we got the ball.

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“Myself and Ross Matthews didn’t get much of the ball – I could count on one hand the amount of touches I had in the first 20 minutes.

“But in the second half we more than matched them and showed what we can do as well.

“It’s definitely more positive than negative for us after that, against a team sitting fifth in the Premiership and getting results against the big teams in the league.

“It shows our boys don’t need to be worried about players that are better than them in that league because we matched them and we can play without fear.”

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Hendry joined Raith in the summer from Celtic and while his number one aim is to clinch the title and promotion, his long-term ambition is to return to the top level.

“Not just me, all the boys in team want to play at the highest level they can,” he said.

“It’s definitely what I’m looking to do whether it’s with Raith or another team.

“We just need to make sure we get promoted from League One, which is easier said than done. I’ve said before that anyone can beat anyone in our league so we’ll need the exact same work-rate we showed against Livingston to keep getting results.

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“We’re sitting top just now but there are probably four or five teams in the title race.

“I thought it would start separating out by down but it doesn’t look like it’s going to.

“The way we’re playing, we’re as good as anyone in the league, so I’m more than confident that we’ll be the team that comes out on top.”

Despite only making his 40th appearance for the club on Saturday, Hendry was recently voted into the Raith Team of the Decade in a poll run on Fife Today.

”It’s good to have the fan base behind me,” he said.

”I wasn’t really that well known at Celtic so this is my first taste of it. The fans have really got behind me and the team and we’ll need that for the rest of the season.”