Lions roar as Aaron sinks his former club
Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson admitted it would have been a travesty if his team had taken a point from Livingston.
The high-flying Steelmen didn’t muster a shot on goal until an effort came back off the post in added-on time.
They’ve been one of Scotland’s form teams this season and have been holding on to third spot in the Premiership for several weeks.
More performances like this and hopes of a Europa League spot will be disappearing over the horizon very quickly.
Motherwell were played off the pitch by a Livingston side that recorded their victory in a row.
Robinson said: “We had 10 players off form. We didn’t turn up and were unrecognisable. We couldn’t pass ball. They out-ran us and out-fought us.
“You need to do the basics if you want to stay third in the league.
“We deserved absolutely nothing from the game. If we had equalised at the end it would have been a travesty.
“I thought Dykes was outstanding up front for them. He bullied us all day.
“Only Mark Gillespie kept us in the game with four or five great saves. I tried to change it at half-time, but even the changes I made went wrong.
“I don’t think it would have mattered who I brought on.”
The ineffectual pair taken off at the break were Christian Ilic and Jermaine Hylton.
Although neither had made any impact going forward, there was little in
the way of supply coming from midfield. They were replaced by defender Bevis Mugabi and attacker Christy Manzinga.
It was a reshuffle that saw the Steelmen go to a back three and commit an extra body in the middle of the pitch.
Something had to be done to give the Lanarkshire men any chance of winning the game but little changed.
The first half was almost entirely dominated by the home side and they kept control despite Robinson’s alterations.
It was no surprise when Livi took the lead with a goal that was all about being direct and determined.
Brown’s long throw from the left travelled to the back post where Aaron Taylor-Sinclair, who spent last season at Fir Park, dived to head the ball off the underside of the bar and into the net.
The goal came just as Mark O’Hara had appeared as a substitute to try and give Motherwell a greater physical presence.
On-loan Rangers goalkeeper Robbie McCrorie could have spent the afternoon
with one hand tied behind his back and still kept a clean sheet.
He only had to look lively in added-on time when he threw himself at a shot that came back off the post.
A few more efforts like that and Motherwell might have taken something from the game but, as Stephen Robinson confessed, they wouldn’t have deserved it.
Look out for a reshuffle in the Fir Park line-up when they host champions Celtic in midweek. Loan signings Rolando Aarons from Newcastle and Bournemouth’s Mikael Ndjoli are likely to be involved.
Robinson hadn’t lost his sense of humour despite his team’s woeful showing.
He said: “Hopefully they’re still here after that performance and haven’t gone home.
“They’ll be involved in some capacity on Wednesday night, but what we do know is we have to have an improved performance or we’ll be in trouble against Celtic.
“We will do that. I’m confident in the players.
“This was an off-day for everybody and anything we tried or changed didn’t work at all.
“I don’t think whatever we would have done today would have got anything out of the game.
“We’ll put it in the bin and go again on Wednesday night.”