Livi are put to the sword by Hibernian
Livingston’s first home clash of the season ended in disappointment as they were pushed aside by a dominant Hibernian in a 4-1 defeat.
As with last week’s loss at St Mirren, the Lions played much better in the second half but that will have been of little consolation to manager Gary Holt.
Ultimately, a dire 20 minute spell in the first half cost Livi the game.
They looked bright early on as Lyndon Dykes burst through to the byline on the fourth minute and his drilled cross just evaded Scott Robinson.
Hibs’ first real glimpse of goal came on the ninth minute when Martin Boyle could not direct his header, from Joe Newell’s cross, on target.
There was little action until the opener on 24 minutes with the players toiling in the heat.
A slip from Jack Fitzwater allowed Daryl Horgan to fire a low cross along the goalmouth which Kevin Nisbet turned home.
The pair would combine again to double the advantage seven minutes before half-time when Horgan’s cross w was nodded into the net.
The points were firmly in the bag four minutes later when Hibs grabbed a third with Christian Doidge slamming the ball home as the defence failed to clear their lines.
Alan Forrest and Matej Poplatnik came on for Craig Sibbald and Nicky Devlin at half-time as the Lions aimed to get back into the game.
Scott Pittman had an effort on goal within a minute as they started the second half with more vigour, while Forrest looked dangerous every time he was on the ball.
They got one back on the hour mark when Poplatnik found himself with the ball at his feet in the box and drew a foul from Ryan Porteous to win a penalty.
Dykes stepped up and rattled the ball into the net to claim his first goal of the season.
The Lions continued to attack and Efe Ambrose had a speculative shot from distance that flew wide of the post but they struggled for end product.
With Livi pressing, Hibs countered and won a penalty at the death when Marvin Bartley collided with Melker Hallberg.
Nisbet stepped up and duly completed his hat-trick to round off a worrying day for the Lions.
They didn’t deserve to lose by such a resounding margin but Holt’s men will have to cut out the mistakes.