Holt rues brutal gale as Livi blow hot then cold
Gary Holt is relieved Livingston’s unbeaten run wasn’t gone with the wind in Paisley.
The manager admitted he wouldn’t have complained if referee Nick Walsh had abandoned the game against St Mirren.
Holt watched his team settle for a draw after being 3-1 ahead, but refused to blast the players for being unable to hold on to three points.
He said: “It is a point gained and I said that to the boys.
“The conditions would get the game stopped – it was brutal.
“It had a hand in goals for both teams. “The pitch was fine. We always talk about if it is playable, but we must look at the other conditions.
“It is a hard one for the referee. It was a gale-force wind and it made a mockery of the game at times.
“Our centre-backs go for a ball and it goes one way, then the next it falls between them. You feel for them.
“For the neutral I am sure it was entertaining – six goals and plenty of chances.
“You want a game of football, and that was more about mistakes.
“We had some decent finishes but if you look at how we got them it wasn’t silky football, or cutting them open. It was horrible.
“If the referee had come over to stop the game I wouldn’t have complained.”
The West Lothian side have now gone four games without defeat and are four points ahead of Saints in eighth place.
Holt did concede his team should have anticipated a St Mirren comeback in front of their own fans.
He went on: “When you are 3-1 up then you should see it out. We knew they wouldn’t lie down.
“We had to deal with balls into the box better.
“We didn’t turn them enough in the second-half, considering the conditions.
“The times we did do it, we caused them problems.
“I came here last year in similar conditions and got nothing because of a late winner, so we will take the point.
“I was hoping it wasn’t going to be a mistake costing either side the game.”