LIVVY STUCK ON QUEASY STREET
Lawless left to lament travel sickness after Saints storm back to earn a point
WHATEVER hopes Livingston have for the remainder of this campaign, finding a cure to their travel sickness will be vital to hitting any targets they set.
Since winning promotion in 2018, they have won just twice in 30 away games against top-tier opposition, a statistic which suggests two things; either there is a communal mental weakness among their squad when they stray from their own turf or the advantage gained from the artificial surface at their Tony Macaroni Arena is even greater than critics of plastic pitches imagine.
Their record on the road would certainly explain why a mere 177 supporters made their way from West Lothian to Paisley on Saturday.
Those hardy souls braved torrential, freezing rain being whipped into their faces by strong, swirling winds which made a mockery of the match and contributed significantly to most of the six goals scored.
However, even after looking the better team and leading 3-1 going into the final third of the contest, one suspects that the Livvy fans, took nothing for granted. Experience has taught them as much.
Boss Gary Holt, one of football’s glass-half-full guys, claimed afterwards that he wouldn’t have complained if referee Nick Walsh had abandoned the match while his team were still in front — and it’s hard to overstate how farcical the weather made this game at times. He also stressed that this was a point gained for his team.
There was no shortage of excitement but it’s difficult for even the most partisan punter to enjoy proceedings while as cold and wet as they were here.
No one, of course, was colder or wetter than the players and Livingston midfielder Steven Lawless was in no mood afterwards to mask his disappointment at their latest away-day downer.
‘When you take into consideration the wind and the driving rain, it wasn’t a good match for either side but when you’re 3-1 up, you have to be more ruthless,’ admitted the former Partick Thistle playmaker.
‘You need to see the game out and not give them chances but it’s really difficult to do that when the weather is as atrocious as it was. You expect your defenders to deal better with the first balls but I’m sure — once I’ve calmed down — that this will feel more like a point gained.’
Asked if the weather was the worst he has experienced in a match, Lawless added: ‘It was up there. The last time I had anything similar was also at this ground, where the gaps between the stands seem to create a wind tunnel.
‘There were some good finishes but the goals were pretty scrappy. We’d have taken a point before the kick-off but, after scoring three times and being two goals ahead, it feels like points dropped, if I’m being honest.
‘It was really cold out there and probably wasn’t the best spectacle but, although we’re disappointed, a point away from home is always something to build on.’
Lawless also refused to use the weather as an excuse for his defenders’ failure to maintain their lead.
‘They’ll know themselves they could have done better at the goals but there wasn’t a decent performance from anyone in our team, really,’ he said.
‘It’s hard to play in those conditions, especially with the way St Mirren put the two big men up front after the break.
‘It’s tough to deal with those high, long balls when it’s as windy as that but we’ll take the point and move on.
‘We haven’t been beaten in our last four games now and we want to build our total up as much as we can.’ Aymen Souda broke the deadlock after Ryan Flynn made a mess of attempting to clear Scott Pittman’s through ball with his less-favoured right foot but Ricki Lamie then allowed Jon Obika to rob him and leave Junior Morais with a tap-in.
Jon Guthrie headed Livvy back in front from Craig Sibbald’s free-kick and Souda poked home their third after Saints’ central defenders failed to deal with a hopeful punt upfield.
The inrushing Obika pulled one back when he deflected Tony Andreu’s delivery behind Matija Sarkic and the striker then benefited from a deflection as he supplied the finishing touch to Calum Waters’ cutback.
‘It was tough, especially in those conditions and going two goals down in the match,’ said Obika. ‘We had to really push ourselves to get back to level and then try to get ourselves in front. In the end, I felt a point was deserved.
‘We lost a sloppy goal before halftime and that pushed the boys to start sharp in the second half.
‘After that third goal, people would have thought we were dead and buried but we pushed back to get a draw. I think that this will be a real turning point for us.’
ST MIRREN (4-2-3-1): Hladky 6; McAllister 5 (Andreu 51), Glover 6 (Cooke 73), McLoughlin 5, Waters 6; MacPherson 6, Magennis 5; Flynn 5, Morias 6 (Mullen 89), Durmus 5; Obika 7. Subs not used: Lyness, Jamieson, S McGinn, Djorkaeff. Booked: Flynn.
LIVINGSTON (4-2-3-1): Sarkic 6; Lawson 6, Lamie 5, Guthrie 5, Taylor-Sinclair 5 (Lithgow 46); Bartley 6 Sibbald 5 (Jacobs 66); Lawless 6 Pittman 5, Souda 7; Dykes 5 (Robinson 78). Subs not used: Stewart, McMillan, Odoffin, Erskine. Booked: Lawson, Robinson, Dykes.
Man of the match: John Obika.
Referee: Nick Walsh. Attendance: 4,344.