Robinson says Well were ‘bullied all over the park’
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson admitted his side “got bullied all over the park” in their defeat by Livingston.
The steel men have won plaudits all season for displays that have eased them to third in the table behind Celtic and Rangers. However, the Fir Park side were well below their best as Aaron Taylor-sinclair’s second-half header clinched all three points for the hosts.
It could have been more emphatic for Livingston but for a sparkling display from Well keeper Mark Gillespie.
“Livingston are very difficult to play against. It is not pretty but it is effective,” said Robinson. “That is not a criticism of Livingston. They deserve nothing but credit and nothing but three points.
“I’ll analyse it to death and when you break it all down – pretty patterns, passing the ball, whatever you do – we didn’t win the battle, we got outfought. We got bullied all over the park.
“I thought the boy [Lyndon] Dykes was outstanding up front. He bullied us all day.”
Dykes set the tone early on with a shot that Gillespie had to beat away and he had another couple of chances before Taylor-sinclair broke the deadlock on 68 minutes.
A long throw-in from Ciaron Brown was allowed to bounce and Taylor-sinclair rose at the back post to head into the top corner from close range.
“We were exceptional against a very good side, the way we dominated, our movement,” said Livingston boss Gary Holt.
“I said to them at half-time, we’ve all been in dressing rooms where we’ve had a pat on the back and a ‘well done’, then you go out there and come back in with regrets.
“We were dictating the game, getting chance after chance, so expect a backlash and be at it from first whistle to last again. And we were.”