Rumour mongering puts fear into unfortunate Livingston

Mar 5 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

Livingston 2 Partick Thistle 4

LIFE as a Livi fan is as scary as a trip on the ghost train and Saturday’s home defeat to Partick was a real white-knuckle ride.

Rumours of financial problems and players not being paid filled the back pages of the nationals prompting an angry response from Lions chairman Angelo Massone on the club’s website and on the stadium’s tannoy before the match.

The constant rumours can not be helping boss Paul Hegarty and his young side.

They have now lost four games on-the-bounce.

Partick Thistle came to West Lothian last weekend and returned to Maryhill with all three points but Hegarty will be more than a little aggrieved at not having taken something from a match they dominated for long spells.

Livi, who had led the way at the top of the First Division earlier this season, are playing well, but are not getting a rub of the green at the moment.

Any 50/50 decisions seem to go against them while the ball refuses to fall kindly for players in gold.

Saturday saw this theme continue as the visitors took an 18th-minute lead from a very soft penalty.

There was minimum contact, if any, between Jason Talbot and Jags striker Liam Buchanan, and Gary Harkins stroked home from the spot.

Tony McParland came agonisingly close to drawing Livi level with a superb free-kick but his curling effort crashed back off the underside of the bar and the rebound was hooked over the bar by Raffaele De Vita.

Ten minutes before the break the visitors doubled their lead when full-back Paul Paton’s long-range drive took a wicked deflection and spun over Roddy McKenzie and into the net.

David Rowson made it three just after the break with a wonder goal which almost tore through the top corner of the net and it seemed as if Livingston were dead and buried.

But Hegarty has his side playing some excellent football and to their enormous credit they clawed their way back into contention.

Kid goals Leigh Griffiths pulled a goal back on 52 minutes and he grabbed his second of the game, and 14th of the season, on 73 minutes to inch the West Lothian club to within a goal of a share of the points.

But deep into stoppage time their hopes of a point were shattered when Harkins curled a free-kick into the top corner.

Livingston: McKenzie, Miller, Talbot, Griffin, Mackay, Torrance (Winters 72), McParland, Hamill, Griffiths, De Vita (One 63), Halliday.

Subs not used: Macdonald, Keaghan Jacobs, McDowall.