Raith Rovers' Shaun Byrne on 'madness' of late Arbroath winner and game plan for Dundee United clash

ARBROATH, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 13: (L-R) Raith's Liam Dick, Lewis Vaughan and Shaun Byrne celebrate at full-time during a cinch Championship match between Arbroath and Raith Rovers at Gayfield Park, on December 13, 2023, in Arbroath, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Lewis Vaughan’s injury-time goal secured a 2-1 win against Arbroath for the Stark’s Park side, and that result also sent Rovers top of the Championship table ahead of this weekend’s trip to Tannadice to face second-placed Dundee United.

And Byrne, 30, reckons that it isn’t luck that is seeing his team pick up points late on in games.

The Kirkcaldy-native told the Fife Free Press: "It was madness. We got right to the end again. I think we probably felt like it wasn’t going to come tonight. That is seven or eight times now this season that we have scored so late on. It just shows that the boys never give in. It was brilliant.

ARBROATH, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 13: (L-R) Raith's Lewis Vaughan, Josh Mullin and Shaun Byrne celebrate with fans at full-time during a cinch Championship match between Arbroath and Raith Rovers at Gayfield Park, on December 13, 2023, in Arbroath, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

“I simply couldn’t believe it to be honest. I cannot even remember celebrating because I was lost in the moment. People can call it luck, but well, it isn’t that if you are doing it seven or eight times in pretty quick succession. Our fitness levels are great and we never know when to stop.

“It is a cliche but it is always a tough trip coming to Arbroath and we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. They had the new manager bounce but in all honesty people forget where they were not so long ago – they were moments really from being a Premiership club.

“We maybe didn’t play our free flowing football, but actually the winning goal came from some great play and we showed composure.”

On Saturday, kick-off 3pm, Rovers now travel to the City of Discovery and Byrne says the top-of-the-table clash is exactly the sort of match footballers look forward too, having “fallen in love with the game again” after joining Ian Murray’s men on loan.

ARBROATH, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 13: Raith's Aidan Connolly (C) celebrates scoring to make it 1-0 with teammates Liam Dick (L) Dylan Easton (C) during a cinch Championship match between Arbroath and Raith Rovers at Gayfield Park, on December 13, 2023, in Arbroath, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

“Saturday is the type of game that you want to be invovled in as a football player,” he said. “The fans want to be involved too and the club have put on buses and really made it a massive thing for the town.

“The supporters have been brilliant and even at 1-1 tonight, they didn’t grumble. They understand. It is a game that we are looking forward to and we are going to have a go. At the end of the day it is three points on offer like any other game.

"Honestly, I am just happy to have fallen in love with the game again. I didn’t play enough at Dundee for one reason or another and football is a game of opinions I suppose, all I know is that I am loving being here in this team.”