Livi take foot off the pedal forcing Martindale to act
ALBION ROVERS 2
Sonkur (62), Paton (70)
LIVINGSTON 3
Pittman (5), Mullin (20), Anderson (48)
By Ian Steven
SPORT@SUNDAYPOST.COM
Livingston manager David Martindale took full responsibility for his Premiership side wilting in the North Lanarkshire sun, almost succumbing to a spirited second-half fightback from fourth-tier hosts Albion Rovers.
The Lions manager insisted he was not happy while assessing his recruitment so far, and admitted there has to be a re-evaluation of personnel, spurred on by this Livi performance at Cliftonhill.
“They’ll be a few coming in now,” Martindale stated. “I’m not going to lie to you, I was pretty happy with what I had. Then you look at the Morton pre-season game, then I look at today and it is fairly evident what I need to do.
“Me, I need to do better. I know where we are a little bit short. Again, this is what pre-season is for. And I need to help the group out. It’s on me. I am quietly going about something now that will help us in a few areas of the park where I feel we are a wee bit short.”
The match kicked off in resplendent sunshine, predominantly foreign to Scottish football, but eagerly welcomed as the domestic season got under way.
Interested eyes were fixed on Esmael Gonvalves and Scott Bitsindou, who were making their competitive debut for the West Lothian club, but Martindale had the luxury of fielding much of his side who just missed out on a top-six finish in the league last season.
The benefit of continuity of personnel was immediately apparent as the visitors manhandled an initial stranglehold on the encounter.
The Lions opened their account for the season in leisurely fashion, with club stalwart Scott Pittman ghosting into the area unmarked after a mere four minutes of play to delicately nod a James Penrice cross into the net.
Penrice was involved in the build-up again for the visitors’ second, rifling in a low shot from the edge of the box that Jack Leighfield struggled to parry, pushing the rebound into the path of a grateful Josh Mullin to tap into the back of the net.
The visitors were clearly invigorated by the half-time break, with substitute
striker Bruce Anderson not needing any time to warm up – with the former Aberdeen hitman hovering to rifle home the rebound after a Pittman effort in the box was blocked.
The matched appeared over as a competitive encounter, but the Cliftonhill side impertinently managed to pull a goal back much against the run of play as Ivan Konovalov spilled a free-kick straight into the path of an astonished Ayrton Sonkur, who slid his effort into the net from close range.
The Premiership outfit were startled 10 minutes later as Rovers bludgeoned a second into the net.
A long throw from Sean Fagan was flicked on and striker Michael Paton was on hand to sweep the ball into the roof of the net.
Anderson should have grabbed his brace and provided some much-needed breathing room after being played clean through on goal with five minutes remaining, but Leighfield produced a stunning block at the striker’s feet to maintain Livi’s frayed nerves right until the final whistle.