LIVINGSTON continued their remarkable rise under David Martindale as two late goals earned the manager his eighth win on the bounce, continuing his 100% record at the helm.
The hosts were well worth their victory and went within four points of Hibernian with the three points, with a game in hand.
“It’s the boys, I can take a wee bit of credit but it’s the players. Players make football easy,” Martindale said after the match.
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Reacting to the news that he was the first manager since Neil Lennon to win all of his first six games in the Premiership, he continued: “I’ll go home, have a cup of tea and the missus will make me do the dishes.
“I’m just delighted for the boys the dressing room is absolutely buzzing. My team talks are so easy and so short.”
Despite showing real improvement in recent weeks, County were unable to establish any sort of rhythm faced with the intensity of the hosts from the opening minutes.
And it took Livingston a mere nine minutes to assert their dominance. When County surrendered possession cheaply just inside the opposition half early on, they were left high and vulnerable to a Nicky Devlin ball lifted over the defence which Scott Robinson, in turn, lofted over the head of Ross Laidlaw from 12 yards.
In many ways that goal epitomised the hosts under Martindale. His emergence has coincided with the re-establishment of other members of his squad who he has entrusted since taking over, giving chances to those who perhaps hadn’t been front and centre before hand. Robinson had played everywhere and anywhere since he arrive from East Fife but backed by his manager is quickly establishing himself as Livingston’s number nine.
Scott Pitman sent a looping volley narrowly over the bar just a few minutes after the goal, as the home side’s confidence grew and their lead appeared destined too.
It took the visitors nearly half an hour to work any sort of attempt on goal, but it would result in the equaliser when it did eventually arrive. After Harry Paton had mishit a shot from an angle inside the 18-yard box, Charlie Lakin reacted quickest and was precise to finish low past Max Stryjek at his near post.
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The goal was totally against the run of play, and one of the first times the Highland outfit had managed to play themselves up the park. But it did inject some confidence and equally appeared to dampen the home side’s early ascendency.
They could and perhaps should have led five minutes after their goal. Jason Naismith found space high on the right and delivered an excellent ball which found Oli Shaw, but he was off balance in stretching to reach the ball and nodded narrowly over from just yards out.
Livingston looked more like themselves after the restart and as the game opened up, they continued to pry and had a penalty shout waved away when Robinson appeared to be held in the box. Alex Iacovitti was then more than fortunate to be given a last warning for a late tackle on Devlin having already picked up a booking. Martindale would demonstrate exactly why he is performing so well as a manager as the match wore on, making three substitutions that combined to score Livingston’s second.
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After Jay Emmanuel-Thomas showed quick feet to release an attack, Pitman drove up the pitch and bounced the ball off of Jack Hamilton. He them slipped in Alan Forrest who had also entered play in the second half and showed composure to fire home curtesy of a Iacovitti deflection.
Tony Andreu almost earned a point late on but fired a shot straight at Stryjek from close range. And the hosts would seal their victory in the final minutes through the third subsitute Jack Hamilton, who profited from the good work of Forrest to fire into an empty net after Laidlaw was beaten.
John Hughes lamented the fine margins that went against his side after the match.
“We had to go and match them and we certainly did that, Livingston knew they were in a game,” he said.
“At 2-1, Tony {Andreu} has a shot, usually you’d see that hit the back of the net, and in the first-half Oli Shaw had a header. Where we are, if that goes 2-1 it’s a whole different game and it gives you something to hold onto.
“That’s just the wee things that are hitting us, in terms of commitment and effort there wasn’t much in the game.”
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