Lions go second as big guns are silenced
Mullen puts Hopkin’s men on march
Livingston end the first quarter of the Championship campaign in second place after a deserved victory over Dundee United.
Danny Mullen gave the hosts the perfect start when he latched on to Alan Lithgow’s clever quick free-kick over the defence to slot home on seven minutes, while Nikolay Todorov wrapped up the points in the second half as United threw men forward in a bid to get back into the game.
It means the Lions sit three points off league leaders St Mirren – the only team to beat them – after nine games. And boss David Hopkin was delighted with yet another fine performance from his side.
He said: “We had a great start to the game. I think it’s about time Danny really started to score goals because he’s got everything else. It was a great finish and a terrific ball from Alan Lithgow to play him in.
“We had a few more opportunities in the first half and in the second half we were magnificent in defence. Dundee United had a lot of the ball but we nullified most things.
“We’ve got honest players here who work hard and as long as they keep doing that, we’ll make it difficult for teams. Dundee United have a lot of attacking flair in their team and if you switch off they will punish you. The back three were magnificent.”
Cheered on by a large away support, United were poor in all aspects of the game and got off to a bad start when Mullen brilliantly pounced on to Lithgow’s 50- yard pass having sprinted beyond the defence.
The striker calmly slotted the ball between
the legs of goalkeeper Harry Lewis and into the net for the opener.
The energetic hosts pressed continuously and gave United little time on the ball, with the Arabs unable to string more than two or three passes together.
Livi could have doubled their advantage on 35 minutes when Lewis was forced out of his box, only for his headed clearance to land at the feet of James Penrice. Under pressure, the Partick loanee could only curl his effort over.
United created more in the first few minutes of the second half than they did for the entire opening 45, forcing a series of corners but the home defence comfortably dealt with everything thrown their way. The only real goal-scoring chance for the toothless visitors came on 55 minutes and through a Livi mistake as Neil Alexander fumbled a long freekick with veteran striker Scott McDonald snatching at the ball and dragging his attempt well wide in a congested area. The home side netted a second with 14 minutes left when a delightful flick from Shaun Byrne set up Josh Mullin who fired in a low cross that was emphatically turned home by Todorov from close range. At that point, the game was over but the hosts could have netted a stunning third had substitute Raffaele de Vita’s curling effort not rattled back off the woodwork in the dying minutes.
A delighted Hopkin was full of praise for his players but insisted standards can’t slip.
He said: “The second goal was great. Shaun Byrne has come on a treat since he’s been here and has great ability.
“To pick out a wee chip pass to Josh was brilliant and it’s a great cross. To be honest, I think Josh is one of the best crossers of a ball I’ve seen in Scotland, his deliveries are fantastic and it’s a great finish from Nikolay.
“The overall performance was very pleasing but we need to keep this up. We’re ahead of schedule.
“I don’t think anyone had us anywhere near the top in what is a very difficult league but we need to make sure that we keep working hard and doing everything we can to pick up points.”