We’ve got room for improvement
Robbo insists his side must be more creative
LIVINGSTON 0 - 0 MOTHERWELL Stephen Robinson insists a share of the spoils with Livingston proves Motherwell have plenty of room for improvement.
A low-quality contest on the Lions plastic pitch proved a hard watch for the travelling claret and amber fans.
But the Fir Park boss was happy to bank the draw at a ground where he hopes his rivals will struggle.
He said: “We will take the point as Livingston’s a difficult place to come to on that surface.
“Every single ball gets launched into our box, not just from throw-ins and set-plays but anywhere on the pitch.
“What we didn’t do was put our own stamp on the game. We created chances but we didn’t do it often enough.
“We weren’t creative enough after being free-scoring in the Betfred Cup but we will be better than that.
“We will take the point due to the battling qualities and Livingston will take points off teams this season as they always do.”
Motherwell fans were on their feet to applaud the sight of David Turnbull taking an impromptu bow before the visiting stand just days since undergoing preventative surgery to his knee.
It was to prove an early highlight for a support which had little to be enthused about during a first half with little to hold their interest.
After dominating the ball for the first 20 minutes, it was the Lions who carved out the better chances and had Nicky Devlin decided to take a shot on early rather than dwelling on an opportunity inside the box then the hosts could have been ahead.
Gary Holt’s side then ended the half with growing momentum as Keaghan Jacobs went close to breaking the deadlock with a drilled effort from the edge of the area which was dragged inches wide.
Striker Christian Iiic then registered a first shot on target which was too tame and easily gathered by Livi keeper Ross Stewart before the young stopper excelled himself with a one handed reaction save to keep out Jermaine Hylton’s snapshot.
With 37 minutes on the clock the ‘Well fans observed a minute’s applause to mark the ten year anniversary of the death of their home-town hero Paul Mcgrillen.
An acrobatic overhead kick from Aymen Souda was then brilliantly tipped wide by ‘Well keeper Mark Gillespie as the West Lothian side continued to look the most likely.
Lyndon Dykes fired an effort past a post seconds after the restart before another slick attacking move ended with Souda slamming a shot into the sidenet but Livi were coming closer.
An Alan Lithgow free- kick was gathered by Gillespie on the hour mark as the traffic continued to flow towards the Steelmen’s goal.
Motherwell did carry the occasional threat but Liam Polworth failed to control his volley from the edge of the area as he blasted a shot over the top.
Richard Tait was just as wasteful when he managed to find himself with a clear sight of goal but from 15-yards out his strike was far too straight at Stewart.
Then came the chance of the game as Devlin drove through at Gillespie with five minutes to go, only for the former Ayr defender to slam in a shot which the keeper superbly beat away.
A stalemate was all but confirmed when former Lion Declan Gallagher nodded inches over the top from a corner as ‘Well ended the contest in dominant fashion.
Robinson revealed he opted to withdraw new signing Christian Ilic at the break for his own protection.
He said: “I took Christian off as I thought he was going to be sent off.
“We needed a bit of luck if we were going to win the game as we were trying to win it but there wasn’t a great deal of quality in the game.” Celtic Ross County Aberdeen Rangers Hibernian Livingston Motherwell Hearts Kilmarnock St Mirren Hamilton St Johnstone Gary Holt insists Livingston’s season opening draw with Motherwell was a two fingers salute to the critics who’ve already labelled them relegation fodder.
The Lions boss was relieved to get their campaign off and running with something to show from a contest low on quality but high on commitment,hustle and bustle.
But Holt admits he’s far from happy with certain pundits who believe the loss of defensive cornerstones Liam Kelly, Craig Halkett and Declan Gallagher has left them‘spineless.’
He said:“i think we had the better chances but to have a clean sheet and a draw with players making their debuts for us , it shows we have a backbone because, apparently, we’re spineless.
“We’ve been labelled as cannon fodder but we showed what we are and we’re not going to move away from that because we’re comfortable in our skin.
“We’re not going to play open, expansive football; we’re going to get in your face and win second balls but, if we get into the final third, we’ll also create chances.
“That’s why we train at high intensity every single day and why we pushed them so hard in pre-season and we don’t apologise for that. As it is, I’m delighted with how we played and, with a bit of luck, we could have won it.”