Daniel O’Reilly excelled after being thrown into the deep end for his Raith Rovers debut.
Not only did he start his first competitive game in six months, he was thrust into a makeshift back three, alongside a midfielder and a right-back, in an unusual 3-6-1 formation.
O’Reilly conceded a penalty late in the game, saved by Kevin Dabrowski, but was part of a side that kept a clean sheet and that recorded its biggest victory at East End Park since 1938.
The former Hamilton centre-back also got an assist for Sam Stanton’s goal and set up Josh Mullin earlier in the half for his strike that struck the bar, in Raith’s 3-0 win the in Scottish Cup.
Not bad for a player who had been without a club since the summer, a period that he said has been a learning curve for him.
Daniel O’Reilly on time without a club
“I had opportunities,” said O’Reilly. You can say hindsight is a great thing and, looking back now, I maybe should have taken one of them.
“But it’s been a learning curve for me in terms of not leaving it that long ever again. The opportunity came to come to Raith and I was delighted.”
In O’Reilly’s own words, Friday night “couldn’t have gone any better” and he praised the team performance from Raith who now go into the hat for Sunday’s fourth-round draw.
He added that he was toiling slightly towards the end of the game and that he was relying on more than his fitness to get through the 90+ minutes.
“I try and look after myself, but you can never replicate a match,” said O’Reilly.
“You just have to try your best to keep yourself going and when it comes to a match, you flip a switch and try not to think about not having played 90 minutes for such a long time. You just try to get through it.”
“I think the adrenaline got me through it,” he said. “It felt good. I tired at the end but the lads were really good with me all week, so I’m delighted with the win and clean sheet.
“Maybe the last 10 minutes were a bit of struggle for me but I felt our shape was really good throughout the whole game.
“There are always going to be periods where they have chances but as a back three, along with the lads in front, I felt we really controlled the game well.
“It’s great, especially away from home. I knew the teams had played three times already this season and I know what the fixture means to the club.
“The players and fans didn’t really need to tell me. I was looking forward to it and to come away with the win is brilliant.”
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