Life is sweet again for Livingston's star striker De Vita

Oct 29 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

Life is sweet again for Livi’s star striker De Vita

GARY BOLLAN has praised the predatory instincts of striker Rafaelle De Vita after the Italian increased his tally to five for the season.

De Vita missed most of last season following a cruciate ligament injury but following a full pre-season Lions fans are now seeing the best of him and the Livi boss reckons there's more to come from the 21-year-old.

“Rafa was back amongst the goals and he has real quality,” admitted Bollan.

“We know he is a good finisher and we had no doubt he’d be back on the scoresheet after a few games without a goal.”

De Vita bagged a brace in Saturday’s win over Queen’s Park which signalled a return to winning ways for Livi following a 1-1 draw with Berwick a week earlier.

And for Bollan it also brought a return to the passing game and ball retention which he has been keen to implement in his Livingston side.

He said: “We asked the boys to be professional on Saturday and they were. We all knew we had to pass and keep the ball better than we had the previous week and again they did what we asked. The boys did it and produced a terrific performance.

“We had a few chances but couldn’t put them all away but saying that if someone had offered me a 3-1 win beforehand I’d have taken it.”

Bollan also welcomed the news teen stopper Cammy Macdonald has agreed a new deal and revealed his delight at the blossoming partnership between the 19-year-old and Danny Griffin.

He continued: “Cammy has come into the team and done well. He’s become an important member of the team and we’re delighted to have tied him down to a long term contract.

“With his experience, I think Danny has brought him along and they are playing very well together.”

This weekend the Lions are back on the road as they head for Links Park and a clash against a Montrose side marooned at the foot of the Third Division.

But Bollan reckons it could be a tough game against a team scrapping for points.

He added: “Montrose will be a difficult game and it’s on astroturf which means it will be something different for us to worry about.