Thursday 25 April 2013

A shift in power or a one season wobble?

If you backed 4-0 and 4-1 wins for the Germans over the past two nights then drop me a line with your lottery predictions for Saturday!

Although many fancied Bayern to get a result at home to Barca, I think everyone was taken aback by just how easy they got it. Likewise, an even tighter affair was expected in Dortmund so for Lewandowski to run riot the way he did and put his team within touching distance of a Wembley final place was a shock for most.

Of course, with these results comes the usual bandwagon where everyone and their dog tells you that they've fancied the Germans for years and how German football is superior to anywhere else just now and so on.

There's a couple of ways to look at it though.

Firstly, we've only witnessed the first legs in Germany so far. The Nou Camp and Bernabeu will be a tough, tough trip for the Germans and having already seen Barca come from a first leg deficit to stick 4 past Milan at home, I wouldn't completely rule out either of the two Spanish giants. Albeit 4-1 is a thumping, that Ronaldo goal gives Madrid more than a glimmer of hope and if they manage an early goal on Tuesday night, that tie could be completely turned on its head.

Of course, with these big advantages, neither Bayern or Dortmund need to go chasing the game next week and given how organised they both looked, they'll be huge favourites to just sit in tight and run down the clock.

Again though, if these two German sides reach the final, all the calls of how German football is taking over are still premature for me. For the past six years or so, Spanish football has ruled all. Everywhere you turn, you've got teams trying to do things 'like Barca' - pass it 'like Barca', keep possession 'like Barca'. That hasn't just changed overnight. Only a couple of weeks ago I watched Barca destroy Mallorca and take a 4-0 lead into the break. They were absolutely frightening that night and that was without their star man.

Ok - Mallorca aren't the toughest of opponents and Bayern too have had plenty convincing wins this season but the point is, just this month, I read tweet after tweet about just how good Barca were and a few weeks later after one poor showing, I'm being told that the Germans have taken over?

Let's see the Germans win something on the International stage before we all jump on this particular bandwagon. German football, like the rest, have been in Spain's shadow for years now. Just last Summer at the Euros, we watched as the Germans fell to an average Italy side in the semi-finals before that same Italy team were thrashed 4-0 in the finally by Spain.

There's no doubt that German football has improved and looks to continue to do so but by having their two top teams, likely, meet in the Champions League final doesn't quite mean World domination just yet. It was only 2008 where Man Utd met Chelsea in Russia in the final of the same competition and that certainly didn't mean that English football was streets ahead of the rest.

For me, Spain and Spanish football is still at the top of the game we all love. The big test will be seeing how Bayern and Dortmund get on next season - that'll be when they can prove if the Germans are back in power or if this season has just been a bad day at the office for the Spaniards.

Dave Black
@LiviLion21

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Has Suarez bitten off more then he can chew?

After watching Spurs fight back to batter Man City on Sunday, I thought the fall out guy from the weekend was going to be Emmanual Adebayor. After yet another lacklustre performance from the big striker, I imagined that the focus of the game was going to circle round how ruthless AVB's men became when Adebayor was hooked.

Fast forward an hour or two and you'd have almost forgotten Spurs and City had even played earlier, let alone moan about the latest lazy shift from Manu.

A run of the mill defender vs striker coming together looked to have nothing in it until Suarez decided to have a gnaw on Branislav Ivanovic's arm as the pair fell to the ground. Unbelievable.

Twitter went into meltdown. Footballers and pundits had their say, Mike Tyson followed Suarez and there was a 'menu' of footballers doing the rounds - Bacary Lasagne being my personal favourite.

Within hours of the full-time whistle, Suarez was issuing apologies, Liverpool were releasing statements, Jamie Redknapp's suit was still too small for him and Arsene Wenger still hadn't seen anything to do with anything.

Suarez should find out the length of his ban today sometime but whatever he's hit with, you'll have some flk arguing it's too much and some folk arguing that nothing less than the death penalty will suffice.

Suarez already served a seven game ban three years ago for the very same thing whilst playing for Ajax. Yet Jermain Defoe escaped with just a yellow card after biting Javier Mascherano back in 2006.

In the grand scheme of things, there was little damage caused to Ivanovic. There's been tackles where players have been left with broken legs and the culprit served no ban. I'm sure there'll be players out there who've suffered that sort of nasty injury who would have loved to have swapped that for having Suarez nibble on their arm.

With that said though, the images of the incident have circled worldwide and the FA would be slaughtered for not punishing Suarez one way or another.

As far as I'm concerned, with only 4 games left until the end of the season, I'd issue him with a ban for those 4 games and look to offer some sort of help via anger management or such like. For the guy to have done it twice now aswell as being caught up in other incidents, he could clearly do with the help.

A ban for the last four games also puts it to bed and means that Suarez can start next season with a clean slate (to a degree).

There's always an over the top reaction to these sort of controversial incidents but for me, four games is more than enough of a punishment on top of any fine handed to him by Liverpool and an agreement to attend some sort of anger classes.

He's undoubtedly an incredible footballer and the quicker Liverpool help him to work on getting rid of the idiotic side of his game, the better for everyone.

Dave Black - @LiviLion21

Greenock Morton – Saturday 20th April 2013

In our penultimate home game of the season, we welcome Allan Moore and his Greenock Morton side to the Braidwood Motor Company stadium today.

At time of print, league leaders Partick Thistle hadn’t yet played their game in hand against Raith Rovers but a win in that game would mean the Glasgow side were crowned Champions. In all fairness, even if they did slip up, Morton would require Archibald’s men to lose their last three games whilst winning all three of their own remaining matches to be able to snatch the title away.

So with all that said, despite a terrific season in which Morton have pushed Thistle all the way, there will undoubtedly be a feeling of disappointment within the ‘Ton squad. However, back at the start of the season, it’s fair to say that not many would have tipped Morton to still be in the title hunt in April.

After winning the second division title back in the 2006/2007 season, Morton’s highest finish in the first division over the past five years has been sixth and that came back in 2008/2009. Just last season, Morton finished in eighth place, only four points above Ayr United who occupied the relegation play-off position. So with that in mind, as much as being pipped so close to the end by Partick for the title, to even be fighting up there is an achievement in itself for Moore and his men.

An opening day draw with ourselves didn’t get the season off to a perfect start and with a draw and a defeat to follow; many would have been expecting another season of flirting with relegation for Morton. However, three times over the season the Greenock side went on seven game unbeaten runs with the Christmas period proving a happy time with back-to-back wins over Partick and Dunfermline really making people sit up and take notice.

As we entered April, Morton sat at the top of the pile but knew that the advantage was with Partick as they had games in hand and were winning them one at a time. It really all came down to the game ten days ago where Morton travelled to Glasgow to play in front of a packed Firhill, knowing that three points would see them sitting one point above Thistle with only four games remaining.

Partick had just played 120 minutes here against Queen of the South in the Ramsdens Cup final just the Sunday before and many thought that the defeat they suffered there might just hand Morton a slight advantage when coupled with tired legs.

A tight game was contested but it wasn’t to be for Moore and his men as a James Craigen goal for the Jags just before half-time was enough to put Partick back in full control.  

The disappointment from that result appeared to linger over to last weekend as a depleted Dunfermline side went to Cappielow and managed to end a nine game winless run with a 1-0 victory.

It now looks like it’s just a case of crossing the t’s and dotting the I’s before Partick are crowned champions but Morton, who are assured of second place at least, can look back on the season knowing that they ran the Champions close.

Moore will now look to see out the campaign on a high by winning the remaining three fixtures before attempting to strengthen his squad over the Summer and push again next season. The experience of coming so close this year might just give the ‘Ton that added incentive to go one step further come the end of next season.

Dave Black.
As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Hamilton Accies – Saturday 13th April 2013

Today we welcome Alex Neil, Frankie McAvoy and the Hamilton squad to the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium. Strangely enough, thanks to the weather, this is the first time we’ve played host to Hamilton this season despite only having six league fixtures left to play. Infact, it’s over a year since Hamilton last made the trip to Livingston, where they recorded a 4-0 victory back in March 2012.

They pushed on from that win to clinch a fourth place finish last season, one place above us, and many thought the Accies would be one of the sides battling it out up the top this season, looking for a return to the SPL.

That hasn’t proved to be the case though and at time of print, Hamilton sit in 7th place,  having only recently pulled away from the relegation places with three wins in their last four outings.

A slow start to the season meant it was October before the Accies registered their first win in the league, a 4-0 success away to Airdrie. However, this was quickly forgotten as back-to-back home defeats followed against ourselves and Raith Rovers.

Into November and, the since departed, Billy Reid seemed to have been getting more out of his players – so much so that he was awarded the manager of the month award for November. An impressive 1-0 win away to Morton was outdone by an even more impressive victory at home to league leaders Partick Thistle. The game, played on a Friday night as part of the SFL Friday night football trial, was watched by a season high 2,450 spectators and an Ali Crawford goal direct from a corner kick was enough to secure three home points for the first time this season.

It looked like a clean sweep of November wins were on the cards the following week as Hamilton led Falkirk by a goal to nil going into the last ten minutes at the Falkirk Stadium but strikes from
Conor McGrandles and Lewis Small meant the Accies managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

December didn’t start until the 15th for Hamilton due to the weather pulling the plug on a couple of scheduled games before then but seven points from a possible nine ended the year on a high.

Since the turn of the year, it’s fair to say that their results under Billy Reid had been average across the board. From fourteen league ties in 2013, the Accies have won five, lost five and drew four. That sort of form represents the league position of seventh that Hamilton currently occupy – not good enough for a title push but no bad enough for a relegation scrap.

With that in mind, many were surprised by the announcement last week that the club had parted company with Reid, with the official statement saying that both Reid and the Club were in need of a fresh challenge.

With that news coming less than 24 hours after the Accies had just secured a big win away to Dumbarton, it was left to Neil and McAvoy to take the side to East End Park last Saturday where they fought back to grab a fine 3-2 win over the depleted Fife club.

As it stands, the duo are only in place until the end of the season but they could put themselves in the frame for the job on a long-term basis with a strong end to the season, starting with back-to-back wins over us in the next few days.

It was a mixed bag of results when the sides met on five occasions last season - four times in the league and of course the Ramsdens Cup semi-final at New Douglas Park. Two wins each and a draw sums up how close the sides were, aswell as the fact only a point split us come the end of the season. A 2-1 Livi win and a 1-1 draw at NDP earlier in the season were both just as close so another tight encounter is expected here today.

Dave Black.

As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Falkirk – Tuesday 2nd April 2013

Today sees John Hughes line up against Steven Pressley for a second time this season with ‘Yogi’ looking to claim a second victory over ‘Elvis’ after his Livingston side ran out 2-1 winners at the Falkirk Stadium back in September.

However, such is the fast moving pace of football these days, the two won’t be clashing here at the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium and rather Hughes will take his struggling Hartlepool side to the Ricoh Arena for Pressley’s first home game in charge of Coventry City.

Instead, it’ll be the battle of the interim managers as Alex Smith brings the Bairns to Livingston looking to inflict a first defeat on the Lions under the temporary leadership of Richie Burke.

It’s not an ideal situation for either club but that’ll not stop both Smith and Burke going all out to make sure it’s their team that pick up the three points come full-time today.

Smith had possibly the toughest start to his reign with a trip to title contenders Morton and the Greenock side proved to be too much for Falkirk as goals from Archie Campbell and Peter McDonald sealed a comfortable 2-0 win.

With only six points separating ourselves in third and Falkirk in fifth, Smith and his players will be desperate to move on from that loss and look to close that gap as the season end draws near.

It’s just over three weeks since Lyle Taylor’s double was enough to secure all three points for Falkirk against us at the Falkirk Stadium. It wasn’t an evening for great football with the pitch not being in the greatest of conditions but grinding out that win will be something that Smith will be reminding his players of as he looks for more of the same this afternoon.

Of course, although finishing as high up the table as possible will be of huge importance to Smith, his players and the Falkirk fans, you could forgive the Bairns players for having their heads full of Scottish Cup thoughts.

It’s only four weeks today until Darren Dods will lead the team out at Hampden Park as Falkirk face up to Hibs in the last four of this season’s tournament. Some favourable draws have seen the side march to the semi-finals and having avoided cup favourites Celtic in the draw, there’s a real buzz around the team knowing they stand only ninety minutes away from a Scottish Cup Final.

With five league games to play between now and then though, Smith and assistant Stevie Crawford will be doing all they can to make sure that’s put to the back of the mind for the time being and that full focus is given to getting points on the board. Not only that, five games is plenty opportunity to impress the manager so the incentive of a place in the starting line-up that day might be enough to ensure Smith gets the best out of his players until then.

The last time the Bairns visited us here at the BMCS, a late Conor McGrandles goal wasn’t enough to spark a fight back as Gareth Evans guided us to a 2-1 victory in his first game in charge. Today sees Alex Smith looking for his first win in charge of the Bairns whilst Richie Burke looks to continue his 100% record to date.

As always proves to be the case between these sides, a tight affair is very much anticipated.

Dave Black.
As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Dunfermline – Saturday 30th March 2013

The last time we hosted Dunfermline in the league, this column started with the following sentence -

“Today we welcome Jim Jeffries and his Dunfermline side to the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium at the end of a week where the Fife club have once again been making the news headlines for all the wrong reasons.”

That was back on Saturday 8th December after the Dunfermline players had just picked up the last of their October salary. There were noises coming out of East End Park at that time that the club may be struggling to find the cash to pay a bill of
£81,000 to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

It’s safe to say a copy and paste job could have been done on that sentence to start today’s column too after another week where Dunfermline Athletic have dominated the news headlines.

With the tax authorities having served a petition for liquidation over a tax bill of now £134,000, the directors of Dunfermline decided on Tuesday that the only option they had was to place the club into administration.

At time of print, the administration appointment hadn’t yet taken effect although Bryan Jackson of PKF, the same man who dealt with similar tasks at Motherwell and Dundee, had been approached to consider being appointed administrator.

Back in December, the off field problems hadn’t seem to have had any effect on the pitch as Dunfermline came here second in the table with only goal difference splitting them and the leaders at the time Partick Thistle.

In the three months since then however, the Pars have slipped out of the title race and are now down in fourth, 20 points behind table topping Morton. They are also currently enduring a six match winless run - dating back to a 2-1 win over Hamilton in early February.

Even just last Saturday, despite scoring three goals at home, the players heads just clearly weren’t in the game as second bottom Dumbarton were allowed to fight back and claim a 4-3 victory to pile on the misery for the Fife side.

It may very well be the case that by the time the Pars arrive here today, a clear out operation might be under way and we could be seeing a match changed squad climbing off the team bus than the one who visited us back in December.

On the other hand, if the releasing of players hasn’t yet started, there will be guys taking to the pitch today knowing fine well that they’ll be free agents in the near future and will be looking to put in a performance to catch the eye of any potential new employers with the end of the season fast approaching.

Only two points separate Dunfermline in fourth and us in third so there’s a big incentive for both sides to win all the three points today. A Dunfermline win will see them move above us in the table and would go a long way to boosting morale for the players in an on field sense at least.

A home win however, would help cement our push for third place; especially given the two games in hand we have to our advantage too.

Whatever the outcome on the field today, it’s sure to be a testing few weeks for everyone at Dunfermline Athletic from the players, to the staff, right down to the lifelong fans that have been turning out week in, week out for year upon year.

Here’s hoping this isn’t the last time these two sides meet and that somewhere, somehow, there’s light at the end of the tunnel for the Pars faithful.

Dave Black.

As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Airdrie – Saturday 2nd March 2013

After two away games on the bounce, it’s a return to the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium this afternoon and today we welcome Jimmy Boyle and his Airdrie side to Livingston for a second time this season.

It was August last year, seven months ago, that the Diamonds came here for our opening home match of the season and they returned to the Excelsior Stadium with three points that day after a well-earned 2-0 victory.

The fortunes of both sides have changed somewhat since then and while we find ourselves hot on the tail of Dunfermline in third place, Airdrie are currently propping up the table in bottom place – five points adrift of Dumbarton in ninth.

One win in their last fifteen games and a total accumulation of only eight points in that stretch has saw the Diamonds plummet down the table. In that same time, Dumbarton and Cowdenbeath in the places directly above them have been steadily improving and gathering points to stretch away from Boyle’s men.

With eleven games still to go, their fate is far from sealed, especially given the fact that they still have to play both the sides above them for the season finishes. However, if safety is to be achieved, the amount of goals being leaked will need to be reduced. On eleven occasions this season, the Airdrie back line has shipped 3 or more goals in a match and when you give yourself that sort of mountain to climb, it’s always going to be difficult.

Even just last month, goals from Paul Di Giacomo, John Boyle and Willie McLaren saw Airdrie score three away to Falkirk but that wasn’t enough to seal even a point as four goals were conceded at the other end and the Bairns claimed a 4-3 win which sent Airdrie to the bottom of the table for the first time this season.

There are signs of improvement though and that’s what Boyle will be looking to further in the coming weeks. Last weekend, it took a late Chris Erskine strike for Partick Thistle to see of Airdrie at Firhill. The travelling fans will have been thankful for that result to an extent, given their earlier trip to Firhill this season resulted in a 7-0 hammering.

The weekend prior to that, it looked like Airdrie had picked up only a second home win of the season after Jamie Bain gave them a 2-1 lead with the game in injury-time. However, lady luck continued to evade the Diamonds and with only seconds left on the referee’s watch, Stevie May popped up to nick a point for the Accies (sound familiar?!).

The last time we played Airdrie, a Friday night football trial, Di Giacomo had given them the lead but again, keeping the opposition out proved a problem as Marc McNulty, Liam Fox and Iain Russell secured a 3-1 Livi win in which proved to be John Hughes’ last game in charge before departing for Hartlepool.

So coming into this game, its one win each between the sides. Jimmy Boyle will be desperate to collect a second win here this season – especially given the fact that Dumbarton play host to Cowdenbeath this afternoon too, meaning there’ll be an opportunity for Airdrie to close in on at least one of the pair and look to push on up the table and out of the automatic relegation place.

Despite the result, an impressive showing last week at Firhill may have given the Diamonds a timely confidence boost coming into this game and they’ll come here today desperate to turn that effort level into points on the board.

Dave Black.
As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Cowdenbeath – Saturday 16th February 2013

Before last week, it felt like months since our last home game but here we are again today at the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium for a second consecutive week as we welcome Colin Cameron and his Cowdenbeath side to Livingston for a second time this season.

Unfortunately, at time of print, Cowdenbeath hadn’t yet played their derby match with Dunfermline but they were going in to that fixture on the back of a win for the first time in 16 games after a 4-1 success at home to Falkirk on Saturday.

Incredibly, since a 3-0 win over Airdrie back in early September, Cowdenbeath had gone sixteen games without a win – drawing eight and losing eight. It’s probably fair to say that when Lyle Taylor netted a second minute opener for Falkirk at the weekend, not many would have predicted a 4-1 Cowden win come full-time.

We know all too well ourselves how difficult Cameron’s side can be to break down given that both our previous matches with them this season have ended in 1-1 draws. The first of those two games was played here and looked to have a home win written all over it but a last minute equaliser from Lewis Milne meant the spoils were shared.

Albeit the same score line, the game between the sides at Central Park just three days before Christmas was a different story as Cowden took an early lead and hit the woodwork twice before Stefan Scougall secured an away point.

Despite showing a mixture of resilience and determination in both of those matches, Cowdenbeath have found it tough on their return to the first division this season and currently occupy the leagues relegation play-off spot, only three points better off than bottom of the table Airdrie.

However, the win against Falkirk was coupled with the return of last season’s league winning captain Jon Robertson and this appears to have given everyone at the club a lift.

‘Robbo’ lead the Blue Brazil to the second division title aswell as winning the Scottish PFA Second Division Player of the Year award before heading to SPL side St Mirren in the summer. Despite featuring on 16 occasions for the Buddies this season, competition for places has begun to heat up and with his former side struggling in division one, Jon took the chance to head back to Central Park for a month on loan and try to help Cowden climb back up the table.

Robertson wasn’t the only addition to Cameron’s squad in January with Motherwell striker Craig Moore also being added to the ranks on a one month loan deal. Aswell as those two, Cowdenbeath also managed to extend the loan spells of Kane Hemmings and Sam Stanton from The Rangers and Hibs respectively.

Tapping into the loan market is something Cameron and assistant Lee Makel have become dependent on given the lack of free funds to sign players to permanent deals. However, with their network of contacts in the game, the pair will be confident that these loan players, who come with experience of working with top SPL players on a daily basis, will add enough to the squad to help steer the club clear of relegation.

With last weekend throwing up a first league win for Cowdenbeath since the beginning of September and a first home loss for us since around the same time, today’s match could be yet another close affair as both sides look to score a win over the other for a first time this season.

Dave Black.

As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Dumbarton – Saturday 9th February 2013

It was only last Saturday that Dumbarton hosted us in our rearranged league match but this weekend, it’s our turn to play host as Ian Murray brings his Sons side to the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium.

The last time we met here, Dumbarton were on the end of a 5-0 rout and had only managed to secure one point from their opening seven games. This poor run continued and with only two points to their name come the end of October, the board decided that a change was needed if the club was to stand any chance of staying up and parted company with, then manager, Alan Adamson.

Assistant manager Jack Ross was asked to take the team until a replacement was found and whilst doing so, he managed to guide the side to a first league win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Cowdenbeath. This was just the boost that was needed around the club and only a fortnight later, ex-Scotland international Ian Murray was unveiled as Dumbarton’s new player-manager.

Murray wasn’t in the dugout for the first game after his appointment but as he sat in the stand at East End Park, a 4-0 defeat showed just the sort of work that needed done. As the bad weather hit over Winter and games fell victim to frozen pitches, Murray had a four week spell with no games and was able to get his players on the training ground and start to put his mark on things.

That downtime without a game and the chance for some extra training sessions seemed to work a treat for the Sons who went to the Falkirk Stadium and Cappielow back-to-back over the festive period and managed to turn both sides over 4-3 and 3-0 respectively to signal a turnaround was well underway.

A tough home match against Dunfermline finished in defeat but confidence wasn’t knocked in the camp and when league leaders Partick Thistle came calling to the Bet Butler Stadium the following week, Dumbarton showed that they have what’s needed to battle for their place in this league and despatched the Firhill side 2-0.

Impressive wins away to Airdrie and at home to Hamilton followed and this seen Murray’s team climb off the bottom of the table for the first time since the season started.

That took us up to last weekend when we visited Scotland’s inform team and managed to inflict only a second defeat in seven games. The ‘never say die’ attitude was there for all to see given that even when we stretched our lead to 4-1, Dumbarton continued to fight in the match and came desperately close to levelling the game late on.

The league table doesn’t look quite as bad for Dumbarton now and they sit in eighth place, three points ahead of both Cowdenbeath and Airdrie with two games in hand over the latter. With sixteen games left between now and the end of the season, Murray will be confident that his side have what it takes to stay in this division if they can continue to perform in the same way they have over the past six weeks or so since his arrival.

A strong first-half performance last week coupled with the two late goals will have Dumbarton coming here today full of confidence that, if they can keep focussed for the full ninety minutes, they could pick up three points today and be the first team to leave Livingston with a league victory since Partick Thistle did with a 2-1 win back in September last year.

Dave Black.


As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Raith Rovers – Saturday 12th January 2013

Despite now being into 2013, we welcome Raith Rovers to the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium for only the first time this season.

It’s fair to say that their season has been very much like our own up until now, emphasised by the fact that only one point currently separates us both in the league table.

A 0-0 draw was battled out between the sides when we met at Starks Park earlier in the season but Raith’s front pairing of Pat Clarke and Brian Graham have been in fine form for most of the campaign finding the net an impressive 26 times between them in all competitions. It comes as no surprise then that a 2-0 victory at home to Airdrie last Saturday was sealed thanks to a goal apiece from the in-form duo.

Graham, a free signing from Greenock Morton a year and a half ago, finished last season with 11 goals in total. He’s already amassed 19 so far this season, including consecutive braces against Berwick, Hamilton and Montrose back in August. After John Baird left for Dundee in the summer, the Raith fans could be forgiven for worrying where their teams goals were going to come from but Graham has stepped up to the plate excellently. He’ll undoubtedly be a threat today as he searches for goal number 20.

That win against Airdrie last weekend was actually Raith’s first win since they beat Falkirk at Starks Park in early November. Although wins against Airdrie and Deveronvale in the Scottish Cup have come since, before Saturday, Raith were on a six game winless streak in the league and that sort of inconsistency is the reason they find themselves in mid-table and not closer to the top, thrashing it out for the title.

A familiar face is likely to be lining up for Raith today with Allan Walker pulling the strings in the centre of midfield. After leaving here in 2008 to join the Starks Park outfit, Allan has gone on to make over 150 appearances and is more often than not one of the first names on Grant Murray’s team sheet.

For the alert amongst you, another former Livi player could feature for Raith today. Midfielder Stuart Anderson was given a short-term deal towards the end of the 2006-2007 season by Mark Proctor and told he had until the end of that season to prove he was worth an extension.  Anderson made six appearances before Proctor decided to look elsewhere and the Banff-born man went on to play for Peterhead, Salisbury City and Eastbourne Borough before becoming Murray’s first signing for Rovers in the summer.

Although still a few weeks away, it won’t be a surprise if the Raith players are struggling to keep their mind of their upcoming Scottish Cup tie at home to SPL champions Celtic. Having already met the Glasgow giants at Parkhead in the Scottish Communities League Cup back in September, the whole club will be keen to improve on the 4-1 defeat they received that night and will be relishing the challenge of taking on Lennon’s side at a packed Starks Park in front of the TV cameras.

The last time Raith travelled to Livingston, John Hughes was taking charge of his first game here and a 4-0 victory got him off to the best possible start. With Hughes now gone though and Gareth Evans in charge, Murray will be hoping his side can kick on from that victory against Airdrie last weekend and claim their first league win in West Lothian since a 4-0 success back in September 2000 – when, believe it or not, a certain Marvin Andrews helped himself to a double.

Dave Black
As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Dunfermline – Saturday 8th December 2012

Today we welcome Jim Jeffries and his Dunfermline side to the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium at the end of a week where the Fife club have once again been making the news headlines for all the wrong reasons.

It was only last week that the Pars players received the final payment of their October wages and they started December with the news that the club didn’t have the money available to pay them their full salary for November. They were given two payments this week that amount to less than half of their pay from last month with the club blaming
a combination of relegation from the SPL, changes at boardroom level and a lack of home matches for their current cash flow problems.

Despite all this going on in the background, it’s fair to say that the players have continued doing the business on the park with the Pars coming here today in second place with only goal difference splitting them and table toppers, Partick Thistle. Infact, Dunfermline’s only two league defeats this season have both come at the hands of the Firhill side.

Strangely enough though, last weekend in the Scottish Cup 4th round, a first-half Andy Barrowman header was enough for the Pars to secure a 1-0 win over Thistle and take their place in the next round where a home tie against either Dumbarton or Hamilton awaits.

It was at this
stage last month when claims were made that Dunfermline were going struggle to pay a bill of £81,000 to
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs with outspoken chairman John Yorkston saying the difficulty had arisen partly due to only having one home game against Dumbarton all month. The Saturday immediate after this, Dunfermline were hammered 5-1 away to Partick and it looked as though the players were starting to feel the strain.

As mentioned though, it was merely a one game blip as a 3-1 derby win over Raith Rovers, a 4-0 win in that home game against Dumbarton and the Scottish Cup victory all followed to put the Pars back on track.

Of course, the Dunfermline players and fans alike could be forgiven for coming here with a sense of confidence today given the thrashing they dished out to us earlier in the season at East End Park. Two goals in each half ensured an emphatic 4-0 win for the Pars and that defeat remains our biggest this season.

Barrowman grabbed a double that day and after his winner last week, he’s now on nine goals in all competitions this season so is likely to be someone our backline will have to keep a close eye on today.

Since that Dunfermline win back in September, both sides went on decent runs in the league, only recording one loss each in the last seven league games – both at the hands of Partick Thistle.

It’s been over three years since the sides last met here on league duty. On that occasion, back in March 2009, goals from Tony McParland, Murray Davidson (2) and Leigh Griffiths secured a 4-2 win for Livi with the Pars goals coming from Steven Bell and David Graham.

It’s fair to say a lot has changed since then of course with Dunfermline tasting SPL life again before their relegation last season and of course we had our own problems, dropping to the bottom tier of Scottish football and working our way back to the first division.

As always though, a tight game is expected today with the Pars knowing that a win could send them top of the league outright if Partick don’t get it all their own way against Cowdenbeath at Central Park.

Dave Black.

As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Dundee – Saturday 1st December 2012 – Scottish Cup

Five months ago, Livingston vs Dundee was set to be a regular league match for the 2012/2013 season.

When the SFL fixture list was originally released back in June, Dundee were scheduled to be coming here to the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium on the second day of the season on league duty. However, the demise of Rangers changed all that and meant that the Dark Blues were offered the chance to step up into the SPL via the backdoor and replace the former Glasgow giants.

It’s fair to say that the decision caused a clash of emotions between Dundee fans. There was obvious delight at gaining promotion back to Scotland’s top tier for the first time since we condemned them to relegation back in 2005, but the task ahead was one which many feared might be beyond their capability.

It was only a matter of weeks between Dundee receiving the invite from the SPL and the start of the campaign, this meaning that Barry Smith had been putting together a squad to try and win the first division, not one to compete in the SPL.

Fifteen games in and the current SPL league table shows that life in the SPL hasn’t been overly kind to the Dark Blues as Smith’s boys sit stranded at the bottom of the pile. Only three league wins to date and a goal difference of minus seventeen hasn’t made for great viewing for the Dee faithful.

After scraping past Peterhead on penalties in the first round of the Scottish Communities League Cup, Dundee were then knocked out by Third Division Queens Park in the next round meaning there hasn’t even been the joy of a cup run to take their minds off the league form.

Shock wins against both Hearts and Hibs last month helped claw back some points but last week’s 3-1 defeat away to St Mirren means the gap at the bottom has stretched again and the wind may just have been knocked out of the Dundee sails just as things looked to be clicking for Smith and his players.

We did of course meet with Dundee on four occasions in the league last season but Smith has added no fewer than twelve new faces to the side with the likes of Colin Nish, Mark Kerr and John Baird all being brought in to strengthen the squad. Nish has helped himself to a couple of Dundee’s few SPL goals but a straight red card for an uncharacteristic lunge against St Mirren last week means he may be ruled out with suspension today.

One man who will be playing today is ex-Lion Rab Douglas. ‘Big Rab’ turned 40 earlier this year and is in his second spell with Dundee. Many Livi fans will remember Rab when he played for us back in our early days before John McCormack took him to Dens Park in 1997. Since then the big ‘keeper went on to win SPL titles, play in the UEFA Cup final, represent his country and he still holds the SPL record for
most consecutive clean sheets after racking up 7 during his first season with the Celtic.
 

As mentioned, the sides did meet on four occasions last season with Dundee winning three of those four, However, the matches here did throw up more goals and excitement than those at Dens with a 4-2 Livi win being countered with a 3-2 Dundee win second time round. Here’s hoping for more of the same today as both sides look to start their own road to Hampden with a win this afternoon.

Dave Black.
As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Falkirk – Saturday 17th November 2012

I think it’s fair to say that when the fixture list was released and Falkirk were pencilled in to visit us here at the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium today, not many would have imagined the Bairns to be sitting only two points above the relegation play-off place almost a third of the way into the season.

Many tipped Falkirk as title favourites in pre-season yet eleven games into the campaign and Steven Pressley’s men have only picked up two wins so far – both of which came away from home.

Every time the Falkirk fans think their team has started to turn the corner, a lack of consistency seems to stop that and force the Bairns to take a step backwards.

Defeats away to Partick and at home to Raith opened the season but that looked to have been put down as merely a slow start as game day three seen Falkirk make the trip to Cappielow and return with all three points. You could forgive the Falkirk fans for thinking that was the kick-start their season needed but that win against Morton was followed up with defeat when we visited the Falkirk Stadium back in early September.

Four draws on the bounce were then ended with a win away to basement boys Dumbarton and again, this looked to be a turning point. A home draw against Partick the following week made it six games without defeat but as quick as the Falkirk faithful could begin to think about marching up the table, last week’s 2-1 defeat away to Raith Rovers put a stop to that.

Pressley will be all too aware that defeat here today coupled with results going against him elsewhere and his side could occupy that relegation play-off place themselves.

No wins and only four goals scored at home so far won’t have made for great viewing and those fans who only attend Falkirk’s home games will be starting to get a bit restless.

The loss of striker Farid El Alagui to Brentford in the summer has undoubtedly been a factor in the lack of goals so far this season but his ‘replacement’, Lyle Taylor, has been doing his bit, finding the net six times in the league so far. Pressley described Taylor as
being more mobile and quicker than El Alagui so our backline will need to be on top of their game to shut him out again this afternoon.


The Falkirk fans haven’t even had the luxury of a cup run to take their mind off the poor league form although financially, the club will be rubbing it’s hands together thanks to being paired with The Rangers in the second rounds of both the Ramsdens Cup and the Scottish Communities League Cup. Despite losing both, a 26,500 crowd at Ibrox and a three-quarters full Falkirk Stadium will both have went a long way to helping with finances. The Scottish cup has thrown up an away tie to either Stenhousemuir or Berwick so the Falkirk fans will be hoping to advance through a few rounds in that one.

Last season, the four games between ourselves and Falkirk produced 19 goals. Of course, the games at The Falkirk Stadium definitely served up more entertainment but here at the BMCS, we didn’t manage a victory in two attempts against the Bairns and boss Steven Pressley will be reminding his players of their good record here in recent times.

A win today would really set Falkirk up nicely with their next two games being against Hamilton and Cowdenbeath, two sides who are also currently occupying places in the bottom half of the table.

Pressley and his team do have time on their side just now but unless they start to turn these draws into wins soon, it could be a long hard season ahead.

Dave Black.
As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.

Greenock Morton – Sat 27th October 2012

At 4.42pm last Saturday, it looked like we’d be playing host to second place Morton as they appeared to be on course for their sixth league win in a row, leading Dunfermline 2-1 going into the dying minutes. An 87th minute equaliser from Pars midfielder Ryan Wallace changed all that though and means that Morton’s winning run came to a halt and they had to settle with remaining in third place.

Still though, five wins in a row and six games without defeat is the sort of form that teams pushing for the top spot are looking for and with the first quarter of the season now complete, Morton find themselves labelled as potential title contenders by some sections of the media.

An arguably poor start to the season meant the Greenock side had only picked up two points from three games. An opening day draw with us was followed up by a draw away to Hamilton and defeat at home to Falkirk which may have had some Morton fans already thinking a long season lay in wait. Add to that second round defeats in both the Ramsdens Cup and the Scottish Communities League Cup to Queen of the South and Aberdeen respectively, and it wasn’t looking too great.

September seemed to see a corner being turned though and after a comfortable 3-0 win over promoted side Dumbarton, Morton went on to record four wins out of four last month, helping to build confidence, put points on the board and steadily climb back up the table. A 4-3 win at Cowdenbeath and a 3-2 win away to Airdrie sandwiched a hard fought 1-0 home win over Raith Rovers and meant Morton started October raring to go as they played host to, at the time, unbeaten league leaders Partick Thistle.

Partick had been flying but a 1-1 draw away to Raith Rovers the week before gave Morton an added boost and goals from Kevin Rutkiewicz, Mark McLaughlin and David O’Brien were enough to seal an impressive 3-1 victory and send Allan Moore’s men to just two points behind leaders Dunfermline.

Of course that then took us to last week where Morton travelled to East End Park knowing a win would see them leapfrog the Pars and possibly grab first place depending on Partick Thistle’s result with Airdrie.

It was all going to plan too with Archie Campbell goals either side of half-time giving Morton a two goal advantage as the game entered the final ten minutes. A Scott Taggart handball gifted Dunfermline a penalty with eight minutes left and ex-Livi midfielder Stephen Husband slotted the kick home to set up a dramatic finish. Then, as mentioned, with only three minutes remaining, a Ryan Wallace header snatched the points away from Morton and both teams had to settle for a point.

The disappointment of that aside, Morton still come here today undefeated away from home with two wins and two draws from four games and without a loss in their last six league fixtures.

Campbell’s double last week also sees him move into first place in the first division goal scoring charts with nine goals in as many games. That list also sees David O’Brien and Peter Weatherston with seven goals between them, with the latter of the two having already notched a goal against us back in August.

On the two occasions that these sides met here at the Braidwood Motor Company Stadium last season, a 1-1 draw and a 0-0 draw were played out. Both sides will be aiming to go one better today and pick up all three points.

Dave Black.
As published in 'ROAR' - the Livingston FC matchday magazine.