LIONS HOPE TO PROVE CRITICS WRONG AGAIN

NEW faces. Same old Livingston. Players of a higher-profile may have departed over the summer, but the no-frills football and great spirit that kept them comfortably in the top flight remain. Outwith Scotland, the very mention of the Tony Macaroni Arena — known more colloquially as ‘the Spaghettihad’ — raises a chuckle. Not here. The prospect of 90 minutes against relentless marauders in yellow jerseys on that horrible artificial surface is no laughing matter. There was a long period in this match when Motherwell retreated into their shells in the face of aggressive tactics. They were fortunate to escape with a point. Visiting keeper Mark Gillespie made a handful of good saves and Declan Gallagher denied his former club with a goal-line clearance. How home boss Gary Holt found this game entertaining is beyond comprehension. But it’s easy to see why he was content, despite failing to secure what would have been a deserved win. He lost the core of his defence in Liam Kelly, captain Craig Halkett and Gallagher, and it’s only natural there were doubts over how the side would cope. However, they have developed such a strong unit and defined style of play that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Alan Lithgow, the epitome of a no-nonsense defender, remains at the heart of it as the new skipper. Asked if the players are quietly determined to silence the pundits who have predicted a harsh dose of ‘second-season syndrome’, he replied: ‘Not quietly. We’ll do it. People have been writing us off for a while and we keep proving them wrong. ‘We need to work harder than a lot of others to get a point, but if we get clean sheets and a goal, we’ll win games.’ It is difficult not to admire them. When you don’t have the money, and the talent that buys, you have to find another way to get results. Motherwell still have a bit to go in bedding in all the new faces — they were rubbish. Jake Carroll had an early effort saved by Ross Stewart, Richard Tait fluffed his lines from a good position and Gallagher put a couple of headers over the bar. But there was no real consolation for them other than the point. Irish left-back Carroll, who had a short spell on loan at Partick Thistle from Huddersfield five years ago, endured a hard reintroduction to Scottish football and expressed hope that plastic pitches will eventually be outlawed in the SPFL. ‘No one wants to play on that surface and the teams who play their home games on it tend to have an advantage,’ he said. ‘Look at how well Kilmarnock did last season. It’s not something I’m used to playing on. Hopefully, they might get rid of it up here eventually.’