Ross Millen was still “a wee bit in shock” after his cheeky injury-time penalty gave Raith Rovers a sensational late victory at Hampden.
His decision to dink the ball to goalkeeper Calum Ferrie’s right completed a sensational comeback after 10-man Rovers had fallen behind to two goals in four minutes from Queen’s Park’s Jack Turner and Ruari Paton.
That had overturned Lewis Vaughan’s first-half opener and Jack Hamilton came off the bench to equalise with a pinpoint header before fellow substitute Jamie Gullan won a penalty.
On familiar territory, having played a number of times for Queen’s Park at the national stadium, Millen took inspiration from when he was on penalty duty during that spell.
— Craig Cairns (@craigcairns001) November 11, 2023
“I scored one here for Queen’s Park when I chipped it,” said Millen. “So I thought I would just do it again. I know, it’s terrible!
“I did the same thing in the penalty shoot-out win over Morton in the SPFL Trust Trophy last season. So I don’t think I’ll be doing it again – that will be the end of that.
“The gaffer always does penalties the day before every game and Dylan Easton, Jamie Gullan and Josh Mullin are always on them.
“But I always used to take penalties and set-pieces and I just thought it felt good to take it.
Ross Millen: I wanted to show leadership
“I wanted to help the boys out and maybe show a wee bit more leadership from my side.
“So I decided to take the penalty and thank God it went in.”
“I don’t even have any words for that, I don’t have a clue how we won it. That will live with me for a long time.
“I’m a wee bit in shock, to be honest. I couldn’t believe how the game changed.
“When it went to 2-1 to Queen’s Park, I thought they were in the ascendancy and could go on to get a third or fourth.
“Then both teams made substitutions and it was good for us to see Jamie Gullan and Jack Hamilton back.
“We got back in the game and Queen’s Park just died off. We were on the front foot and I felt the equaliser was coming at some point.
“Jack gets it and then Jamie wins the penalty and I score it. So two boys who have come back from injury have done really well which is great to see.”
‘Let’s see where it takes us’
Millen revelled in the celebrations after netting the winner and afterwards praised the owners for fostering a “close-knit” relationship with the support.
Echoing the sentiments of his manager, they know there is a chance they could sustain this form, but the aim remains to get as put as far away from fifth as possible
“As a player, you are always looking for the best you can do,” said Millen.
“But in the same sense, we finished seventh last season and were lucky to finish seventh with the squad we had.
“This season, we’ve got a bigger squad to pick from. We just need to get into the top four – we’ve been told that at the start of the season, we need to make the top four.
“Hopefully we can secure that and see where it takes us.”
Conversation