 |
|
|
|
|
|
e-mail Lorsports
Return to the Reports' IndexLorsports' Home Page
Livingston 3; ROSS COUNTY 1 |
Livingston may be in danger of alienating the rest of the First Division through their seemingly momoploistic activities in the transfer market, but if they continue to perform in this vein, it will be of little consequence; they will be plying their trade elsewhere.
On a sodden surface hardly conducive to slick passing, both sides struggled to produce much that was aesthetically pleasing in the opening exchanges. Any excitement was centred around Marvin Andrews, Livingston's defender, who was uncompromising in the tackle which endeared him to the Livvy fans.
In the fourth minute he nodded a Barry Wilson cross into the path of Alex Burns, who attempted to flick the ball into the far corner, but the effort was cleared off the line. There was little else to stir the fans in the following 25 minutes before Steve Tosh found himself in the unfamiliar territory of the opposition penalty box and betrayed his attacking inexperience by shooting wide.
Two minutes later Wilson was sent clear by Marino Keith but a reflex save by Nicky Walker prevented the ex-County man from opening the scoring.
As the elements relented, so the play improved and County began venturing forward less tentatively. It was, therefore, ironic that on one of the rare occasions County laid siege to Livingston's goalmouth that they were hit by a sucker punch. A lack of cover at the back was severely exposed when Kenny Gilbert slipped, allowing Burns to set up Tosh who evaded Walker and squared to Keith to finish.
Following the re-start, the edge seeped from the home team's play and Ross County took full advantage by equalising in the 53rd minute. John Anderson's ineffective clearance broke to Alex Bone and the striker netted with a smart lob over Neil Alexander. Parity lasted only 60 seconds as Keith restored Livvy's lead when he headed home Tosh's cross from 6 yards out.
County poured men forward in an attempt to drag themselves back into contention. Bone posed questions of the home defence, but the striker was ploughing a lone furrow. In contrast, Livingston were quick to get their midfield quintet up in support of their strikers.
It was a defender, however, who created Livvy's third strike. Anderson's strong header was punched off the line by Eddie Cunnington who was sent off for deliberate hand ball. David Bingham sent Walker the wrong way from the penalty spot to cement Livingston's place at the head of the First Division.
Ross County: Walker; Gilbert, Cunnington, Maxwell, D McKay, Henderson (Ferguson, 64), McQuade (Shaw, 80), Smith, Bone, Millar and Holmes (Kinnaird, h-t).
Return to the Page Index
ROSS COUNTY 0; Livingston 2 |
Talk of creating an "SPL2" has hit the newspapers afresh this week with dark mutterings from some quarters of this latest threat to Scottish football's lesser lights.
Such a promised land of TV riches seemed distant here yesterday. This, unfortunately, was not the sort of afternoon to inspire thoughts of extra satellite and terrestrial TV revenue. Far from it.
Important though the victory was to the Almondvale men, the uninspiring fare could have been crystallised in highlight form into a short commercial break.
Ultimately, though, Alex Burns and David Bingham helped to banish Livingston's Challenge Cup final blues after defeat by Airdrie and also took the side to the top of the table with a game in hand on faltering Falkirk.
Ross County, reeling after their derby defeat last week, had influential Ian Maxwell back in defence after suspension and Marc Millar returned to midfield. Their weakened state was underlined by the recall of youngster Steve McKay from Third Division Elgin City, but the absentees could not solely explain the visitors' dominance.
Livingston were boosted by the return of Burns and Steve Tosh. Marino Keith and Marvin Andrews were ruled unfit, but their ranks seemed far from depleted as they went ahead after 13 minutes.
County had hardly ceased claiming for a penalty after Steve Ferguson tumbled in the penalty box, when the supposed culprit, Tosh< surged 50 yards up the field to feed Derek Flemging who delivered a cross in from the left. There was little danger but the ball was not cleared and it fell to Burns who stabbed it home from about ten yards out.
Livingston were ruffled by County's enthusiasm but, overall, made better use of the ball in midfield. County could claim near misses - a John McQuade flick from Brian Irvine's header had to be cleared off the line and Craig Taggart went past the 'keeper only to be forced wide. However, the game degenerated into a messy affair.
It was really becoming a drag when Tosh's corner set up Bingham for a straight-forward finish to seal the points for Livvy.
In the dying minutes Derek Holmes missed a clear-cut opportunity for a consolation goal.
After the match Neale Cooper the Ross County manager said: "We have played Livingston three times this season and there's never been much between the sides. There were a lot of good things I could take from the game but we did ourselves no favours at times."
Ross County: Walker; D McKay, Cunnington (Zahana-Oni, 82), Maxwell, Irvine, Taggart (S McKay, 71), Fraser, Ferguson, Holmes, Millar (O'Neill, 46) and McQuade. Unused Subs: Hamilton (gk) and Lees.
Return to the Page Index
Livingston 1; ROSS COUNTY 1 |
League leaders Livingston dropped two vital points to keep Ayr United in the promotion chase after a 1-1 draw against Ross County.
The hosts nearly made a terrific start with County defender Frank Escalon doing well to clear from David Bingham after the club's top scorer had been played clear after only 30 seconds by Barry Wilson.
Eddie Cunnington did brilliantly to clear off the line from a John Anderson header after 12 minutes as Livingston continued to press.
But the visitors stunned the league leaders after 19 minutes when Hugh Robertson met a perfect Karim Boukraa cross to send a powerful header into the net.
After some persistent pressure, the hosts equalised after 32 minutes when Wilson got behind the defence before driving a shot into the far corner of the net.
The second half belonged to Jim Leishman's side and they only have themselves to blame for throwing away a number of chances.
Bingham headed just wide and the striker then had a header cleared off the line by Alex Bone.
Ross County: Walker; Escalon (Canning, 76), Robertson, Perry, D McKay, Cunnington (Henderson, 49), Taggart, Ferguson, Bone, Boukkra and Prest (Holmes, 65). Unused Subs: Hamilton (gk) and Fraser.
Return to the Page Index
ROSS COUNTY 0; Livingston 1 |
Livingston have been shamelessly vilified in some quarters this season merely for having the cash and brass neck to shore up their Premier League aspirations by raiding some of the best talent available among division rivals.
Jim Leishman and David Hay won't talk titles quite yet, but if they do win the championship, some will happily discredit the achievement as the inevitable consequence of their relative financial might. That argument appears rather disingenuous when you consider that, SPL standard stadium or not, second-placed Ayr United spent freely in the build-up to the campaign and rarely looked genuine SPL material.
This display from Livingston suggested there has been much more to their ascent than lavish spending, however. It took good, old-fashioned fighting spirit to triumph in this encounter. Barry Wilson, once a Ross County hero, latterly a Caley Thistle and Livingston foe, perhaps inevitably, emerged as the thorn in the Dingwall side's flesh as they succumbed to their fourth defeat in their last five matches.
The visitors looked menacing early on with Derek Fleming sending David Xausa into the box for the Canadian to unleash a thunderous drive which smacked off the underside of the crossbar.
County hit back after that early scare, but Alex Bone's snapshot was held confidently by Ian McCaldon in six minutes. Hugh Robertson was next up to test McCaldon with another long-range effort in 16 minutes, but the Livingston 'keeper stood his ground. Livingston came more into the game towards the interval and David Bingham sent a 20-yard shot just over the bar a minute before the break.
Leishman made a double switch at half time, with 'keeper McCaldon departing, presumed injured, for ex-Airdrie star Javier Broto and Mark McCulloch exiting for David Hagen. Broto had only two minutes to wait for his first taste of the action. County winger John McQuade turned neatly and drilled home a low shot that the Spaniard clutched at the second attempt.
Livingston finally took the lead in the 53rd minute. Wilson's 12-yard strike was cruelly deflected past Gary Hamilton off Ian Maxwell's leg and the former Scotland Youth 'keeper was left wrong-footed and helpless.
County did stage a fight-back of sorts. Bone had a snap-shot turned away for a corner two minutes from time and, from that set-piece, he nodded the ball just wide.
Ross County: Hamilton; Perry, Robertson (Ferguson, 55), Maxwell, Irvine, Cunnington, McQuade, Fraser, Bone, Boukraa and Holmes (Prest, 71). Unused Subs: Gonet (gk), D McKay and Canning.
Return to the Page Index
Lorsports' Home Page