Lions tamed but at least they played!

Aug 6 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

A WEEK is a long time in politics was something that the late Prime Minister Harold Wilson used to say but it is even longer in football.

Just a few days ago Livingston looked to be set to disappear in to football oblivion with Angelo Massone stubbornly refusing to walk away from the club.

Now though, after Massone was run out of town by new sheriffs Gordon McDougall, Neil Rankine and the Livi For Life Supporters Trust, Livingston are a team with a second chance at life.

On Saturday their rebirth was completed as they took to the field to face Albion Rovers in a match their supporters feared they would never see.

But Rovers clearly hadn’t read the script and stunned the First Division club 3-0 to dump them out of the CIS Cup.

Bobby Barr grabbed a goal in each half before sub Mark McGusker sealed the win.

And Livingston keeper Roddy McKenzie admits they simply weren’t at the races on a humbling day on the park for the county club.

He said: “It was obviously a disappointing result but it has been a hard week for all the players.

“I don’t know if it did affect our performance but it is hard to know what has been going on in players heads this week. Our jobs have been on the line and it has been tough but there is still a long way to go in the scenario although we should have played better

“Our preparation for the week wasn’t ideal and we did have a brand new back four with three of the guys still just 19-years-old.

“And Cliftonhill is never an easy place to come to and they were well up for the game so there were loads of different factors.”

Led by new skipper Liam Fox the new-look Livi came out to roars of approvals from a healthy travelling support.

Usual captain Chris Innes was missing for Livi after a switch from Almondvale to St Mirren which is a sign of things to come for the West Lothian club as the new owners immediately begin to cut their cloth and shed their high earners.

The back four boasted three teenagers with a debut handed to Neil Hastings and a first starting place for David Sinclair.

But from the outset Rovers proved they were in charge taking an eighth minute lead. The impressive Bobby Barr swung in a corner from the right which was bundled into the net by Livi keeper Roddy McKenzie for an own goal.

Andrew Halliday had a sniff of a chance for Livingston after combining with David Winters but his effort lacked pace.

Two minutes after the restart Albion stunned the West Lothian by racing into a 2-0 lead. Pat Walker created a yard of space on the right touchline by skinning Chris Malone before firing the ball across the face of goal. Barr arrived unnoticed at the back post and curled the ball past McKenzie.

Just after the hour mark Livi had a golden opportunity to claw a goal back through David Winters. The Livi frontman peeled off his marked on the edge of the box and was expertly picked out by Hamill but Winters blew the opening when he failed to get enough height on his attempted lob .

Livi continued to enjoy the majority of possession but in terms of clear sights of goal it was all still Rovers.

Two minutes from the end the hosts put the gloss on a performance to remember when they scored their third goal. Walker was again instrumental as he played a clever ball to the near post which Mark McGusker reached first to flick home past stranded McKenzie

Albion boss Paul Martin had created controversy pre-match with comments that Livingston had received special treatment form the SFL but he stuck by his guns afterwards and revealed how some of the Lions players had disrespected Rovers’ home ground.

Martin said: “I had said a few things but I don’t go back on any of it. There was a bit of friction before the game with their players but I didn’t mean anything against them just against the ethos of a club being insolvent.

“We are a small club trying to make ends meet. A couple of the Livingston boys remarked on how run down Cliftonhill is but this is our home. We are proud of it and it is our asset.

“This will be sold one day and we can become more of a community club.

“I thought we were magnificent and there was a suggestion we were a bit lucky last week and I’m delighted to say we were just as lucky this week again.”

Livingston manager John Murphy admitted it had been an emotional week but refused to use that as an excuse.

He added: “The game was well won by Albion Rovers who deserved their win and were sharper than us and more intense.

“I don’t know if it was result of an emotion week but I won’t use that as an excuse.

“We were definitely second best. We are lacking a bit of a cutting edge and it’s been an emotional week.”

Livingston: McKenzie, Sinclair, Hastings, Malone, Talbot, Halliday (Keaghan Jacobs), Fox, Torrance (McKee), Hamill, McParland, Winters. Subs: Kyle Jacobs, McNulty, McDowall.