Rampant Lions give woeful Hibs a mauling
HIBERNIAN 0
LIVINGSTON 3
Mullin (9), Guthrie (16), Robinson (47)
Davie Martindale watched his rampant Livingston side equal their record win over Hibs – before insisting that their margin of victory could have been even more emphatic.
The Lions made it seven successive wins since Martindale took the reins at the Tony Macaroni Arena in November, with five of those coming in the Premiership and at the expense of just two goals conceded.
This, however, was perhaps the most impressive win of the bunch as they completely dominated a side with European aspirations on their own patch from start to finish, with strikes from Josh Mullin, Jon Guthrie and Scott Robinson doing the damage.
The hosts were dreadful – hardly the response to their midweek defeat against Ross County – and barely warmed the palms of visiting keeper Max Stryjek as their home woes continued.
Make that just three wins from 11 Easter Road outings.
Martindale said: “I thought the boys were great and the gameplay worked perfectly. To be honest, with a wee bit more intricacy in the final third and looking after the ball then we could have scored another couple of goals.
“Our momentum is massive. It makes my job that much easier and I was a wee bit worried the postponement in midweek (against Aberdeen) might affect that – but the boys carried on where they left off.”
Jack Ross was forced to contend with a significant setback before a ball was kicked, with goalkeeper Ofir Marciano, slated to make his comeback after a two-match absence, pulling out after complaining of a calf pain during the warm-up.
Dillon Barnes was drafted in for his third start on the spin, while 36-year-old coach Craig Samson took his place among the substitutes.
And Barnes was picking the ball out of his net within nine minutes. Robinson swept a fine lofted pass to Mullin, who ghosted in behind the lethargic Lewis Stevenson to fizz a fine low drive into the net.
Livingston deservedly doubled their lead after 16 minutes when Barnes woefully flapped at a Mullin corner, prompting an almighty melee in the goalmouth before Guthrie decisively lashed home from point-blank range.
Mullin, magnificent throughout, curled another fine effort narrowly wide before forcing a super fingertip save from Barnes on the cusp of half-time.
“Josh has been brilliant since coming into the club,” continued Martindale.
“He has added some creativity and I honestly think his deliveries with his right foot are second to none.”
Remarkably, it got worse after the break as Hibs’ defensive efforts graduated from abject to comical.
Ryan Porteous and Paul Hanlon appeared to have the situation under control as they sought to sweep up a simple through-ball. However the duo somehow contrived to allow Robinson to steal in, rob possession and prod a low effort beyond Barnes.
Livingston came closer to registering a fourth goal than Hibs did to reducing arrears, with Barnes forced to field a low Jason Holt drive and substitute Julien Serrano firing narrowly off target.
But even without added gloss, Livi still matched their previous landmark 3-0 wins over the Hibees in 2001 and 2005. Moreover, they are now just nine points behind the capital club with two games in hand. “Those two games in hand are Aberdeen and Celtic, so let’s wait and see!” laughed Martindale.