Misfiring Lions pay price for wasting chances
Blue Toon nick three precious points
As smash and grabs go, this was right up there with the best of them as Livingston slumped to their second home league defeat of the season.
Peterhead left the Tony Macaroni Arena on a bitterly cold Saturday evening with the points – but they could have had no complaints had the Lions won convincingly.
For a team that sits just behind Celtic in the SPFL goal-scoring charts, the hosts were surprisingly profligate in front of goal.
Danny Mullen, who entered the day having failed to find the net in seven games, somehow contrived to miss from three yards out before later clattering the crossbar.
His strike partner, Liam Buchanan, had a goal ruled out for offside – wrongly, according to Livi boss David Hopkin – and created a series of half chances that may well have gone his way on another day.
The goal, when it eventually came in the 79th minute, was too late to lead a fightback charge after the visitors had hit Livi on the break twice.
The hosts went into the game looking to bounce back from their disappointing 3-0 IRN-BRU Cup loss against The New Saints and Hopkin made three changes to the starting line-up.
Liam Kelly retained his place in goal while Josh Mullin and Shaun Byrne started in place of Nicky Cadden and Raffaele de Vita, who was nursing a hip injury.
The Lions went with a 3-5-2 formation and proceeded to play some of their best football of the season in the first half. In previous
defeats, the Lions showed they struggled to break down teams that defended in numbers, but there was none of that as they continually carved the Blue Toon open, only to fluff their lines at the crucial moment.
Mullin was a constant threat down the right flank and tested Graeme Smith in the Peterhead goal on a couple of occasions in the early stages while neat play between the strikers saw Mullen’s effort deflected wide.
Livi did eventually have the ball in the net on the halfhour mark only for Buchanan to be ruled offside.
Six minutes later the visitors took the lead with their first real attempt on goal, although the ever-impressive Rory McAllister appeared to be the proverbial country mile offside when he received the ball before feeding Leighton McIntosh to tap home from close range. Much like the first half, the team in black were the ones in command after the interval. Byrne’s terrific play resulted in Mullen firing over the bar from close range before Byrne himself went close with an effort saved by Smith. Livi, perhaps too early, continually charged forward and left themselves vulnerable at the other end – and it was from a counter-attack that Scott Brown, who would afterwards admit his team were well outplayed, would rifle the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with 16 minutes to play.
The Lions did get back into the contest in the 79th minute when a long ball from Mikey Miller deceived Fiacre Kelleher in the Peterhead defence.
Buchanan nipped in, lobbed the ball over the on-rushing keeper and then, just to make sure, headed home his 16th goal of the season from close range.
Hopkin introduced Dale Carrick and Matthew Knox after they reduced the deficit in a bid to get something from the game.
But it wasn’t to be as the Blue Toon defence saw out the remainder of the contest with relative ease to, somehow, make the trip back north with the three points in the bag.
They continually carved the Blue Toon open only to fluff their lines