Livingston left to count the cost
LIVINGSTON manager David Hopkin was left to lament a woeful error by club captain Craig Halkett as Queen of the South claimed a crucial win which meant they leapfrogged the Lions and moved into the Championship’s play-off berths.
Halkett, 22, has been magnificent throughout this campaign but was responsible for the defining moment of a hard-fought contest, dallying on the ball in his own half to allow Stephen Dobbie to pinch possession and hare through on goal.
If the defender’s error was uncharacteristic, so was Dobbie’s failure to find the net, as he crashed his shot against the crossbar. Chris Kane, however, was on hand to calmly slot the rebound beyond the helpless Neil Alexander.
As Queens toast their place in the top four, Hopkin’s men are enduring their first truly testing period in an otherwise excellent return to the second tier, with just one victory in their last six matches, and will reflect ruefully on a missed gilt-edged chance by Steven Boyd late on.
‘We gave a schoolboy goal away,’ said Hopkin honestly. ‘It was terrible defending, something we’re not used to doing. Craig knows that, too.’
Queens boss Gary Naysmith lauded his men’s efforts.
‘We were down to the bare bones but I thought they gave me everything,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t a classic but I think we edged it on chances created.’