McKenzie will have big role to play for Livingston

Nov 26 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

RODDY McKENZIE shivered on his goal line as rain and wind battered the Almondvale surface during Livi’s 2-0 win over Albion Rovers.

The Coatbridge side’s frontmen rarely ventured into the Lions’ penalty area and the former Hearts goalkeeper would have been forgiven for thinking that his team-mates wouldn’t have noticed had he slipped off the park for some shelter.

But on the half-hour mark of Tuesday night’s match, McKenzie was called into action and he proved what a vital player he is for the Third Division leaders.

Rovers midfielder Ciaran Donnelly was left completely unmarked inside the Livi penalty area and he looked sure to score when he launched himself at a cross and sent a looping header over the back pedalling McKenzie.

But Livingston’s No 1 shrugged the cold out of his limbs and managed to summon enough agility, reflexes and upper body strength to reach back and tip it on to the top of the crossbar.

It proved to be his only serious save on a night when Livi extended their lead at the top of the table to five points and showed exactly why McKenzie will have a big part to play in the clubs title surge.

The veteran keeper, in his second stint at Almondvale, believes his side have hit top form but is sure that they still face a battle to win the title.

He said: “It’s not going to be easy but it is great to be five points clear now.

“Saturday’s game was tough for us and the game against Albion Rovers was difficult because of the conditions.

“But we showed some good composure when we needed to and defended well. I felt we were quite comfortable in the end and deserved to win.

“I don’t think any side has the right to win anything but if we work hard and keep our fitness up, we can make it hard for other teams to catch us.”

McKenzie has watched on as Livingston have slammed in 16 goals in their last five fixtures.

And the veteran has revealed his delight at seeing the goals shared around the side rather than scored by one player.

He continued: “There was a lot of ups and downs at the start of the season and I think it is clear to see now that our full-time training is starting to come to the fore.

“The boys have been brilliant and they knock the ball about really well. Everyone is chipping in with goals, which is a great thing, as it isn’t good to have to rely on your strikers for goals.

“You won’t win the league if you have just one striker banging in 20 goals – everyone has to pitch in. It is good to see a guy like Keaghan scoring so many recently and we need to make sure it is a team effort.

“We break forward with tremendous numbers and we are not scared to have a go – and it has been paying off.”

The win over Rovers also gave the Lions some revenge after two earlier defeats at Cliftonhill at the hands of a Rovers side who were very vocal with their criticisms of Livingston.

McKenzie added: “To be honest, I don’t care about Albion Rovers and I’m not concerned with anything they have to say.

“They can shout their mouths off in the press all they want and it is no problem to me. We just concentrate on winning matches on the park and it doesn’t matter who we are playing against.”