Positive talk, but Kenny’s gone just a day later
Few would have predicted events to unfold as they did after hearing manager’s comments after cup loss
Livingston ..................... 0 Motherwell ................... 1 Callum Carson Kenny Miller insisted there was plenty to be positive about despite Livingston’s Betfred Cup exit at the hands of Motherwell — only to part company with the club the next day.
Danny Johnson netted the only goal of the game midway through a pulsating firsthalf that saw both teams hit the woodwork.
The Lions went close to taking the lead as early as 45 seconds into the clash when Steven Lawless rattled the crossbar with a half-volley from 25 yards before playermanager Miller went close from similar distance after five minutes, with Trevor Carson tipping his effort over the bar.
The visitors were inches away themselves moments later during a terrific start to the clash as Johnson clipped the outside of the post after some dithering in the Livi defence presented him with a great chance to open the scoring.
Lee Miller then fired wide of the post after some neat build-up play from Livi on 18 minutes before the hosts had Liam Kelly to thank for keeping the game scoreless with a stunning point-blank save from a Richard Tait header.
The Well would get themselves on the scoresheet on 23 minutes when Curtis Main won the ball deep in Livi’s half and squared to Johnson, who duly swept home from 10 yards.
Carl McHugh looked to have doubled the lead on the half hour mark when he got on the end of a corner-kick but Kelly produced another remarkable save at his near post
to deny the defender. The former Rangers keeper was at it again in the closing stages of the first half with a tremendous stop from Main when the striker looked set to prod the ball over the line from three yards out.
The home side elected to make a change at the back during the interval, introducing Ricki Lamie at the expense of Egli Kaja and switching to a back four and that seemed to settle them defensively although the second half certainly didn’t match the intrigue and excitement of the opening 45 minutes.
The only real genuine chance of note after the interval arrived on 66 minutes when substitute Allan Campbell turned the defence inside-out before hitting the far post with a fizzing drive. Miller’s men had a fair share of attacking possession but lacked a killer instinct in front of goal as they were unable to find an equaliser that would have taken the game into extra-time and kept alive their hopes of a quarterfinal berth for the second consecutive season. Despite the defeat, he commented: “We were more than competitive and it didn’t feel like there was an awful lot in the game. It’s always disappointing to lose any game of football but there’s a lot of positives we can take and a lot we can improve on.
“We could have been two up after four minutes. I thought my one was flying in and Steven’s looked for all the way it was going in but it was unfortunate it came back off the bar. This game and the Kilmarnock game last week are two games against established teams who have been in the Premiership a long time and we’ve more than held our own.”
He added: “It’s finding that creative edge at the top end of the pitch. Were they better than us? I didn’t think they were but fair play to them for taking one of their chances.
“We’ll get stronger and better and we will learn but it was a positive performance against a very good Premiership club.”
And with that, Miller’s brief time in the Livi hotseat came to an end.
We were more than competitive and there is a lot we can improve on