Livi lead from start to finish
Great display extends league cushion to 11 points
Callum Carson Livingston increased their lead at the top of League One to 11 points with a comprehensive victory over Brechin City.
It was a match the Lions dominated from start to finish, quite literally as Liam Buchanan opened the scoring after 41 seconds before further goals from Craig Halkett and Scott Pittman wrapped up the points.
The win, combined with Alloa Athletic being held to a draw by Albion Rovers and Airdrieonians suffering defeat to Stenhousemuir, gives David Hopkin’s side their largest cushion of the season in the race for the title.
The hosts went into the match on the back of a disappointing Scottish Cup loss to East Fife the previous week but the head coach elected to make just a solitary change to the starting line-up, with Mark Millar recalled after being cup-tied at the expense of Raffaele de Vita.
And any lingering nerves following that poor display went out the window within a minute after kick-off as the prolific Buchanan tapped home his 21st goal of the season. He ghosted away from his marker at the back post to pounce on a Declan Gallagher flickon from a throw-in to prod the ball into the empty net.
Manager Hopkin was pleased with the good start to the game.
He said: “It was important that we got back to playing with a high intensity and that’s what we worked on all week. We had to make sure we got a good start and that’s settled us down a bit, although I think we should have scored more in the first half. We played the game at our pace and kept it that way. We were pressing the ball and didn’t let Brechin settle and it worked. The intensity was there and it was important we got back to the way we can play and that’s credit to the players.”
Liam Buchanan said: “It was a good start. We were hurting from last week so it was important we started well.”
The hosts played the better football in the opening stages but were unable to fashion any more clear-cut chances, while Finn Graham blasted well over after he split the Livi defence with Brechin’s first effort of the game after 17 minutes.
The Lions extended their lead just before the half- hour mark. Nicky Cadden was scythed down and Millar’s free-kick from wide left was wonderfully headed beyond the diving Graeme Smith by Craig Halkett for the defender’s first goal of the campaign.
There was never any danger of the lead being lost and the only question that remained to be answered in the second half was how many Livi would score, as the visitors appeared content with just trying to break up the flow of the game with a series of cynical fouls rather than attempting to get back into the contest. But for a string of near misses and fine saves from Smith, the final margin would have been greater than three, with the Lions finding the net just once after the interval. The dangerous Cadden, who would later be subbed as much for his own safety as anything else after being the victim of some meaty challenges, cut inside from the right wing on 56 minutes and rifled a shot at goal that was eventually tapped over the line by Pittman after a deflection off City defender Paul McLean. Goalscorer Craig Halkett said: “My job as a defender is obviously to get clean sheets but it’s always nice to help out at the other end. It was a great performance from the boys and you can’t really ask for any more. The back four has changed up a bit since Declan came in but I think you can see that we’re starting to gel.” Livingston have won all seven games they have played this season against teams currently in the top four.
Match stats