Livingston held to draw by Oxford at ‘Vale

Jul 22 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

LIVINGSTON returned to Almondvale for the first time since being crowned Third Division champions and gave their fans a hint of future glories.

The Lions extended their undefeated pre-season run to five games with a 0-0 draw against visiting Oxford United, handed home debuts to all four of their new signings while nine of the match squad were graduates of the much-lauded youth academy.

And with the new season curtain raiser, a Challenge Cup match against Queen’s Park at Hampden, fast approaching it was another excellent test, passed with flying colours by the Lions.

It wasn’t a match without chances and both sides had plenty sights of goal.

It was the Second Division title favourites who went close inside the opening 120 seconds when a Bobby Barr cross was headed back across goal and completely missed by Ryan Clarke but covering stopper Jake Wright spared his keeper’s blushes by heading off the line.

At the other end, Oxford should have taken the lead when Jack Midson skipped past Cammy MacDonald at right back and fed the ball into the box where James Constable flicked it on to the unmarked Matt Green inside the six-yard box who rolled the chance wide.

David Sinclair threaded a superb ball in to the flying Barr but his shot was easily gathered by Clarke.

Green almost made amends for his earlier miss with a snap shot on the spin from the edge of the box but Tony Bullock, making his Almondvale bow, tipped the ball just over the top.

Raffaele De Vita tested Clarke with a low drive from 25 yards just before the break while Constable flashed a good opening over from the inside right position for Oxford.

After the break Asa Hall forced a save right from the restart before the same player was denied by Bullock again just after the hour.

But the game’s best chance fell to Livingston new-boy Michael O’Byrne midway through the second-half when he was picked out by a Keaghan Jacobs cross, but with just the keeper to beat the stopper headed wide.

Attendance: 658

Livingston: Bullock, MacDonald (Hastings), Malone, Sinclair, O’Byrne, Watson (D Jacobs), Barr (McNulty), Keaghan Jacobs, Russell (Winters), De Vita (Kyle Jacobs), Hamill (Conway). Subs: Conway, McDowall.

Oxford United: Clarke, Batt, Tonkin, Baker (Heslop), Worley, Wright, Bulman, Green (Kinniburgh), Constable (Deering), Midson (Woodley), Hall. Subs: Franks, Potter, West, Eastwood.