DAVIE FINDS FIVER
Another three points for new boss Martindale as Lions roar on with fifth win on the spin
DAVID MARTINDALE’S honeymoon period as new Livingston boss continued as Jon Guthrie and Josh Mullin strikes claimed the points against Covidstricken Hamilton.
After landing the Lions post on a permanent basis this week, it’s now five wins from five since taking interim charge following the departure of Gary Holt.
It was another impressive showing by the West Lothian side whose dominance from start to finish merited a more comfortable scoreline against an Accies side that continues to suffer coronavirus blows with four players ruled out of the clash.
Pre- match virus issues forced Brian Rice to shuffle his pack.
And with Scott Martin, Ross Callachan and Nathan Thomas all absentees, Reegan Mimnaugh, Ronan Hughes and Kyle Munro were drafted in from the side that won at Ross County at the weekend.
Martindale made just one alteration to the side which beat the Staggies in the League Cup quarter- final in last midweek with the suspended Marvin Bartley making way for Jason Holt.
And it was the Lions who threatened in the third minute as Scott Pittman fired a James Forrest cross inches wide of a post to signal their intent as they dominated the early stages.
Accies somehow survived moments later. Mul lin’s delivery from the right was met by Scott Robinson and his header beat Ryan Fulton only to crash against the crossbar.
And Guthrie only just failed to divert the ball over the line as Hamilton cleared the danger.
Robinson then slammed a shot into the side net in the 10th minute as Livi continued to push for an opener by firing a succession of crosses into the box as the hosts started to buckle under the pressure.
Again it was Robinson who was at the heart of things as he rose at the back post to meet Nicky Devlin’s delivery but inexplicably chose to head the ball back rather than place an effort on goal.
One-way traffic was flowing Hamilton’s way for the first 20 minutes.
But gradually the balance of play brought Accies some respite with Rice’s side starting to enjoy some attacks in enemy territory.
Livingston’s next attempt came from the head of Accies striker David Moyo as he almost diverted a clearance into his own net only to breathe a side of relief as it narrowly slipped wide.
And impressive as the Lions had been, their failure to claimi any advantagedtg from f their superiority was a clear frustration for Martindale as he barked instructions from the visiting bench.
Another self-enforced error caused panic for the hosts in the 35th minute.
Aaron Martin rolled a pass straight to Pittman who couldn’t place an effort on an unguarded goal with keeper Fulton having strayed to the edge of his box.
But the Accies stopper was better placed to make a decent save from Craig Sibbald’s curling free-kick as the half drew to a close with the deadlock remaining.
For all that Livingston had been in charge, that lack of a clinical edge was keeping the Lanarkshire team in the game.
However, Livi finally made the breakthrough seven minutes after the restart and this time a cross from Holt found an end product as Guthrie bulleted a header down and past Fulton for a lead that was a long time coming but more than deserved.
Hamilton’s response was restricted to trying to prevent a killer second as the Lions continued to pose problems down both flanks as they looked to cushion their lead.
There was a further blow for the hosts as keeper Fulton limped off to be replaced by Kyle Gourlay.
Hamilton appeared no nearer to making any attacking impetus of note in what had become an uninspiring and backs-to-the-wall display.
A second almost arrived for Livi in the 73rd minute as Forrest cut in from the left to fire in a shot from distance that flashed wide of target.
But Hamilton continued to struggle to make any impression at the other end of the pitch.
Gourlay then did well to smother Robinson’s strike 10 minutes from time as Livi attempted to push the points out of reach.
The last act was to be Mullin’s free-kick that was buried low past Gourlay as the points were banked to cap a miserable night for Hamilton as the curse of the coronavirus strikes again.