I’m loving life at Livi
Byrne in no rush to leave
Livingston midfielder Shaun Byrne says he’s in no hurry to leave the club following a‘fairy tale’ year.
The 25- year- old has been one of a number of standout performers for the Lions in their first top-flight campaign in 12 years and, while he admits there could be speculation about his future, he says he loves being at the club.
He said: “It’s part and parcel of football. When your team does well, then obviously individual players are performing well and that gets noticed.
“There’s plenty of guys here who I think can play at a higher level and it’s obviously good if your name is getting mentioned, but I’m at Livingston until I’m told otherwise and that’s just the way it’s going to be.
“I love being at Livingston and it’s the best decision I’ve made to come here.”
Reflecting on the past 12 months, and the club’s fine start to the season, he said: “It’s been a bit of a fairy tale this year. If you’d offered us 30 points by the end of December, we’d have snapped your hand off for it.
“It’s a disappointing result to lose to Aberdeen but we’ve proven that we’re not far off the biggest and best teams in this country. If you look at the bigger picture, it’s been an unbelievable start to the Premiership for everyone.
“We’ve carried on from last year and taken that momentum. We’ve always believed in ourselves but we know there’s plenty of work still to do. If we can have a second half of the season like we did the first, then we’ll be fine.”
Next up for Byrne and his team-mates is a well-earned rest before jetting off to Portugal for a winter training camp that will include a friendly against Dutch top-flight side Vitesse Arnhem.
And the midfielder says that’s just another sign of how far the club has come during his spell in West Lothian.
He said: “It will be good to get away from football for a few days because December has been tough and we’re tired.
“We’re away to Portugal for a few days and that will be good. We’ll be working hard but hopefully we can have a bit of a laugh, too.
“It shows how far Livingston have come over the last couple of years that we’re now in a position where we can go on training camps.
“Last January, we were away to Brechin, so it will be a wee bit different. We’re right back at it with the cup game at Hearts when we come back so hopefully we can get a good break and be ready for the challenge.”
Livingston’s tremendous 2018 ended on a sour note as they suffered just their second home league defeat of the season.
Substitute James Wilson, on loan from Manchester United, proved the catalyst for the visitors as a dull affair burst into life in the final quarter with three scrappy goals.
The Dons took the lead on 70 minutes when Stephen Gleeson’s strike from distance was going comfortably wide of Liam Kelly’s right- hand post only to be diverted across goal and into the far corner by Wilson.
The striker appeared to wrap the game up for the visitors with six minutes to play when he led a counter-attack by turning on the burners and sprinting beyond Alan Lithgow down the right wing as he took the ball fully 50 yards before firing across the face of goal.
Craig Halkett’s attempted clearance took a bounce off both Aberdeen youngster Dean Campbell and Livi substitute Steve Lawson before finding the back of the net for an unfortunate own goal.
The Lions aren’t ones for giving up, though, and they got back into the clash on 88 minutes as Ryan Hardie pounced on a loose pass back to delicately chip the ball over Joe Lewis in the Aberdeen goal before eventually bundling it over the line for his fifth goal in as many games.
It was to be a case of too little, too late for
the home side, though, as they failed to find a dramatic equaliser.
Gary Holt made two changes to the starting line-up that had secured an away draw against Dundee three days previously and elected to go with three up front as Lee Miller partnered Hardie and Dolly Menga, while Craig Sibbald was recalled at the expense of the injured Keaghan Jacobs.
The Dons had the better of the early chances with Stevie May proving a threat to the Livi defence. The striker’s curled effort went narrowly over the bar before his thundered strike on goal was blocked by Halkett. While Aberdeen created more, it was the hosts who fashioned the best chances of a largely forgettable first-half. Halkett’s flicked header from a Stevie Lawless free- kick looked for all the world to be sneaking into the far corner before Lewis produced a wonderful save while Scott Pittman had the ball trapped under his feet when he seemed set to square for Menga. Hardie had the ball in the net from long range five minutes after the interval but had been flagged for offside.
May once again went close as Connor McLennan breezed past Nicky Cadden, a first half replacement for the injured Miller, but the winger’s cross was knocked wide of the woodwork.
With the game seemingly petering out into a goalless draw, Wilson showed his instincts to divert Gleeson’s attempt home before showing Lithgow a clean pair of heels for the second.
The defeat was a tad harsh on the hosts but they go into the winter break with an 18 point advantage in their bid to avoid the drop - a figure nobody would have thought possible in the summer.