Goal boast better than Gold Coast
Dykes is happy to Liv with wintry weather as parents sit on beach
Dykes won’t miss Oz sunshine while he’s on a hot streak
LYNDON DYKES could have been forgiven for feeling a pang of homesickness on Saturday.
He woke up to messages from his parents as they soak up the sunshine on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Forty degree temperatures, crystal seas and barbecues on the beach.
The Livingston striker, on the other hand, was faced with torrential rain and whirling wind on a Baltic afternoon in West Lothian.
However, Dykes is adamant there is nowhere he would have rather been after proving too hot to handle for Kilmarnock in a stunning win.
The Rugby Park side froze after conceding the opening goal to Jon Guthrie early in the second half, allowing Dykes to head home his seventh goal of the season. The big striker then turned provider for Stevie Lawless to complete the rout.
Dykes said: “The conditions were tough but you just have to get on with it whatever the weather is.
“The wind was a lot stronger than it looked, it was very cold and raining but you have to adapt and we did. It was typical Scottish conditions.
“My parents back home were just telling me it’s 30 to 40 degrees back there ... so that was nice of them.
“It’s fine – as long as it’s not snowing here I’m OK!”
The conditions played havoc with the opening stages, with passes bouncing out of play, high-balls proving impossible to judge and goal-kicks by Killie keeper Laurentiu Branescu holding up in the gale and barely reaching the half-way line. However, Livingston adjusted and imposed themselves on the game. Aymen Souda stung the palms of Branescu with a fizzing drive while the Romanian was sharply down to block a Ricki Lamie header. The on-loan Juventus goalie was the only Killie player to emerge with pass marks and made another super instinctive block with his legs to deny Scott Pittman after a delightful Lawless back-heel.
Any suggestion Kilmarnock would improve with the wind at their backs in the second period proved unfounded. Even shooting into a gale, Livi were dominant and broke the deadlock 10 minutes after the break.
A deep free-kick was headed down by Lamie, allowing his defensive partner Guthrie to sweep home.
“They have a lot of tall players, that can be an important factor,” said Killie boss Angelo Alessio afterwards. No kidding.
Dykes doubled Livi’s advantage when he powered home a clinical header following a superb delivery from the irrepressible Lawless.
With so much talk over whether he will represent Australia or Scotland if an international call comes, Dykes is keen to return his focus to club matters.
He added: “If it ever does come I’d love that, for whatever country.
“But it’s something that I really need to put to the back of my head.
“I’m just focused on club football at Livi. I’m hitting the gym and making sure I play as well as I can.”
Dykes turned provider as Gary Holt’s men added deserved gloss to the scoreline. He slipped a ball to Lawless and the winger took his time before sliding home a cool finish.
The victory was sweet following eight matches without a win as Livi roared six points clear of the drop zone, with matches against St Mirren and Ross County up next.
Dykes added: “I’m glad this time we managed to get the points our performance merited. Now we’ll move onto the St Mirren game.”