Kelly not giving in with games running out
Stephen Kelly admits time is running out for Livingston to save their Premiership status, but insists they will give their all in the post-split fixtures.
Former Rangers kid Kelly scored twice on his 24th birthday against Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday to put the visitors 2-0 and provide real hope of closing the gap on nearest rivals Ross County.
But the Lions lost 4-2 in an incredible first-half salvo from both teams.
To compound matters, County claimed a shock 3-2 win over titlechasing Rangers in Dingwall to open up a huge 12 point gap going into the final five games.
The post-split fixtures have also handed Livi a home clash with the Staggies in the first fixture on April 27, meaning they will be officially relegated if they lose that.
Kelly feels big moments have gone against Livingston in games this season, but says they will fight to the bitter end to stay in the league while it is still mathematically possible.
Kelly said: “Chances are getting fewer, but I think it’s not done.
“There are still five games and 15 points to play for, so we just need to go into every game and look to take three points, and to keep going until we can’t go any further.
“That Hearts game probably summed our season up – a lot of good stuff, and a lot of bad stuff.
“The way we started has been a common theme over the last two months. We haven’t looked like a team struggling at the bottom.
“But the gap has been there for a while and the harsh reality is it has got bigger.
“Within games we haven’t looked like a team low on confidence, but big moments in games have been where we’ve been going wrong.”
Against Hearts, Kelly struck twice to put Livingston 2-0 ahead in 22 minutes, but by the interval the game was done and dusted, with goals from Jorge Grant, Yutaro Oda and Cammy Devlin, and a Lawrence Shankland penalty.
Livingston have won just three games from 33 Premiership outings and Kelly added: “The last few performances we’ve looked more aggressive and on the front foot.
“When you look at the players, a lot of us are suited to that.
“We’ve got a lot of energy to go after teams, and to force good teams like Hearts into making mistakes early in the game.
“It then gives you that foothold, and we got that, but we threw it away.”