Livingston captain fears no one in first division

Sep 15 2011 by Allan Valente, West Lothian Courier

LIVINGSTON captain Liam Fox says his side fear no-one in the First Division after a last-gasp equaliser denied them three points over title challengers Falkirk.

Livi conceded a penalty in injury-time to hand the Bairns a share of the spoils at Almondvale on Saturday, but Fox says his side have adapted well to life back in the second tier of Scottish football.

And the midfielder pointed to Livi’s continued unbeaten run at home as proof that the Lions are more than capable of competing in the tightest division in the country.

He said: “It was obviously extremely disappointing having played more than 90 minutes to concede a late equaliser.

“We’ve played Hamilton, Dundee, Falkirk and Morton – teams that were all tipped for promotion – and we definitely have no fear of playing in these games.

“I think teams know they definitely can’t underestimate us. We have pace, energy, enthusiasm and a good bunch of lads.

“Teams know they are in for a tough afternoon when they play us and we have a fantastic home record. I think it’s been well over a year since we were beaten here and the boys take great pride in that.

“Now we just want to keep that form going because we know that games at home are crucial in this division.”

However, Fox and his team-mates were left to rue two dropped points at the weekend, as a late Falkirk penalty cancelled out Iain Russell’s opener.

“In my opinion they didn’t really look like scoring apart from a few corners and shots from distance,” Fox said.

“I thought we were pretty comfortable to be honest and to concede to a really soft penalty was worse.

“But maybe these things even themselves out over the course of a season – we got a late equaliser against Hamilton a few weeks ago as well.

“We definitely feel frustrated because we look at both the Hamilton and Falkirk games as four points dropped. But we need to move on.

“Games are always going to be close in this division and the teams that can string four, five or six wins together are going to be challenging at the top.”

The Lions now face the long trip to Dingwall this weekend to take on Ross County, and Fox is well aware how difficult it will be to get the away win.

He said: “County have spent money in the summer and they have one of the best squads in the division in my opinion.

“It’s going to be a long day but that’s just one of those things – every team has to do it. It’s good playing up there and you always get a good atmosphere. We’ve just got to do our job and hopefully come away with the three points.”

Fox is also excited about the prospect of locking horns with Hamilton again after the sides were paired together in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.

The Lions travel to New Douglas Park next month and the midfielder is relishing the prospect of getting his hands on another medal.

He added: “It’s the toughest draw we could have gotten. We should have taken more from the league game last time we played them because they were down to nine men.

“But everyone will be up for it because we have a chance of getting to a final and winning another medal.”

Match report – page 62