Ian Murray insists Raith Rovers ‘won’t go away’ in the Championship title race – and Kyle Turner is convinced victory over Partick Thistle is the proof.
After the high of their historic Fife derby win over Dunfermline, the Stark’s Park side knew they needed to rouse themselves again for a tough trip to Firhill on Tuesday night.
Win, and they were back to within just a solitary point of Dundee United at the top of the table.
Lose, and they would have to endure more chatter of missed opportunities following the remarkable 3-2 defeat against bottom side Arbroath earlier this month.
In the end, a first-half Euan Murray header was enough to give the Kirkcaldy men the win they craved with a battling display.
It prompted Murray to urge his side to ‘believe’ they can pull off a stunning achievement and pip overwhelming favourites United to the title.
And Turner reckons the signs were good as Rovers found a way to win against the Jags, who hit the bar and post in a grandstand finish.
The on-loan Ross County midfielder, who provided the set-piece assist against his old club, said: “It wasn’t the greatest performance from us. But nobody will remember that at the end of the season, especially if we can go up.
“We know Thistle are a good team. They keep the ball well and we had to ride our luck towards the end when Brian Graham hit the bar and Harry Milne struck the inside of the post.
Turner: ‘We’ll take confidence’
“But you need to have that kind of luck. We’ll take confidence from winning while not at our best and the clean sheet was a bonus as well.
“We also did that in the derby with Dunfermline last weekend so that’s a good sign.
“Against Thistle, we didn’t have too many attempts apart from our goal. But we dug in and we were really good defensively.”
Raith will be hopeful they will not be left to rue that recent collapse from 2-0 up to lose against Arbroath.
There have been plenty of other chances passed up by both challengers over the course of the campaign.
And Turner reckons there will more to come, as Rovers attempt to next negotiate another tricky trip west to face Queen’s Park on Saturday followed by their showdown with United.
He added: “We have Queen’s Park at Hampden on Saturday and then United at Tannadice in the following game. We like to go under the radar while we keep winning games.
“It’s going to be tight and points will be dropped between now and the end of the season. But it’s now all about hanging on in there.
“United play Dunfermline on Friday night and they’ll be looking to put that pressure back on us again by winning. But it’s going to be like that right down to the wire.
Raith face ‘another tough test’
“We believe. You can tell that by our reaction at the final whistle [against Thistle]. We knew that was a big result and that we’d reduced the gap at the top to just a point again.
“There’s not much in it now. But Callum Davidson’s done a great job at Queen’s Park since he’s been there so that’s another tough test for us.”
Turner made just his third league start for Raith on Tuesday night following his arrival on loan in January.
But, with some pivotal matches and so much at stake in the coming weeks, the former Dunfermline player is eager to be heavily involved in the run-in – whatever it throws up.
Turner, who narrowly missed out on promotion via the play-offs with Partick last season, went on: “It was nice to get the assist for Euan Murray’s winner. I also got one at Arbroath recently but we lost that night.
“We’re going to have a right go at getting over the line first by winning the league.
“But we also need to be prepared for the play-offs just in case.
“There’s eight games left and we need to take them one at a time and win as many as we possibly can, and see where it takes us.”
