Lions roar again after nightmare
Boss Hopkin praises his troops for bouncing back
Livingston boss David Hopkin praised his players after they climbed to third in the Championship table after a four-goal display against Dumbarton.
Just three days after slumping to their heaviest defeat of the season at Dundee United, the Lions stormed to a stunning 4-1 victory away to the Sons.
The visitors came back from a goal down and even missed a second half penalty as Hopkin secured his 50th win as Livi boss and ensured his team will go the whole of 2017 without losing consecutive matches.
The delighted gaffer said: “Not many teams will come here and score four goals, so I am delighted with the players’ attitude and commitment right through from training to here.
“It was good to bounce back like this after the Dundee United game .
“We started the game well, but a long ball caught us out and the boy Ally Roy had a great finish. So it was important we got back level so quickly because Dumbarton play a style where they make it difficult for you to break them down.”
Livi were first out the traps and Sons keeper Scott Gallacher dropped a high ball, but recovered to gather ahead of Raffa De Vita in the third minute.
The hosts took the lead midway through the first half as Roy cut inside and fired a thunderous effort into the roof of the net, but Livi were behind for just two minutes as captain Craig Halkett pounced on a blunder from the keeper to tap the ball home from close range.
De Vita set up the Lions’ second goal with a brilliant back flick into the path of Dylan Mackin, who then released Scott Pittman in the box and he angled a low shot into the net just two minutes from the interval.
Then, 10 minutes into the second half, Mackin cracked a volley inches wide of the left post as the Lions went for the killer third goal.
Three minutes later he did just that when he had the simple task of tapping the ball over the line from a yard when a low ball slipped across the face of goal from De Vita’s pass.
Substitute Scott Robinson hit the fourth in the final stages when he drilled a low drive in off the right post from the left of the box after Dumbarton’s defence failed to clear a ball in the area.
The Lions’ busy spell continues as they host Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday before making the tricky trip north to face Inverness Caledonian Thistle on January 2.