Livi boss hails ‘outstanding’ keeper Kelly
Gary Holt hailed Liam Kelly’s “wonder save” after Livingston dumped Motherwell.
Livi moved into the top six thanks to a well-deserved 2-0 win over the sloppy Steelmen.
But, with the score at 1-0, Kelly denied Well what looked like a certain equaliser when he somehow got a hand to Barry Maguire’s back-post effort.
It was a miracle stop from the former Rangers keeper – and it wasn’t lost on his delighted manager.
“When it was required, my keeper was there with a wonder save,” said Holt.
“It was outstanding and for someone so young to keep pulling out these moments with such regularity is terrific.
“The most impressive thing is his concentration levels because he didn’t have an awful lot to do, but still produced the big save.
“It is testament to Liam and the rest of the boys just how much they want that clean sheet.
“It is pleasing to work with boys with that determination. Liam is like a sponge, he wants information, he wants to learn and improve.
“He is disappointed in training when he loses a goal! That carries over into games and is a mentality all the defenders have.
“They hate losing goals, it narks them. We are fortunate to have boys that will put their body on the line, in both boxes.”
Livi’s strength was indeed evident at both ends of the park against Motherwell.
Their ruthlessness from set-plays ultimately secured the victory.
But their rock-solid defence and tireless midfield laid the foundations for a win that ended a four-game winless streak.
“We had really good control against a very good Motherwell side,” said Holt.
“They have threats in attack, but we marshalled them well
“Then we have weapons we can use, tools in our toolbox – like Alan Lithgow’s long throw – so let’s use them.
“On set plays, we have people prepared to go in there and get hurt, so let’s not get away from that and do shortcorners, intricate stuff like that.
“Just get the ball in the box and today we got two really good goals from it.”