Livingston 0-0 Motherwell: Both sides fail to sparkle on opening day
- Published
Highlights: Livingston 0-0 Motherwell
Livingston and Motherwell failed to sparkle on the opening day of the new Scottish Premiership season.
The visitors, who had posted four wins from four in the group stage of the League Cup, failed to make it a fifth as they drew a blank in front of goal.
However, both sides remain undefeated, with Motherwell yet to concede a goal.
Richard Tait passed up Motherwell's best chance, while Nicky Devlin almost won the game for the home side in the dying minutes.
Motherwell's Jake Carroll and the hosts' Aymen Souda had forced good first-half saves, but it was a game of few clear-cut chances.
Getting to know you or pretty rubbish?
These teams sailed through their League Cup groups, but a goalless draw was a fitting outcome as neither side produced sufficient quality to deserve more from the game, though their battling qualities could not be faulted.
Both squads have undergone fairly major surgery over the summer, so with unknown quantities for the opponents to come to terms with, the opening half-hour could politely be described as a getting-to-know-you phase. Alternatively, it was pretty rubbish - scrappy, overly-physical and lacking in coherent, passing football.
Livingston manager Gary Holt's mantra last season was "we start each match with a point, let's make sure we don't lose that". That is an ethos that has not changed for his side's second season in the top tier. His players battled and bustled. Motherwell did likewise. And the result was not pretty.
Motherwell fans unveiled a banner fo Paul McGrillen, a decade on from their former player's death
But suddenly the ball players on each side had had enough and a game of football broke out. Jermaine Hylton began to wriggle away from challenges - on one occasion releasing the overlapping Carroll, who brought out a fine one-handed save from Ross Stewart.
Livingston, not to be outdone, tested Mark Gillespie to the fullest. Souda's overhead kick was well kept out, as was a powerful Alan Lithgow header, and when Gillespie was beaten, former Livingston defender Declan Gallagher was on the line to head Scott Pittman's goalbound shot away.
The stalemate would not be broken though as Gillespie stood up well to keep out Devlin.
Man of the match - Aymen Souda
Tough call as no player really excelled, but Souda was lively throughout and had the game's best effort - an acrobatic scissors kick, which Gillespie did well to turn round the post.
The Frenchman looks like a player who will excite the Livingston fans and it was a little surprising to see him replaced by manager Holt with a quarter of the match remaining.
Motherwell remain solid at the back - stats
Motherwell have still not conceded in the Premiership or League Cup this season
'We'll be better against Celtic' - post-match reaction
Livingston head coach Gary Holt: "I think we had the better chances and it was nice to see we had a bit of spine that we had been missing, apparently. A first clean sheet of the season - I'll take that.
"We're not going to go away from what we are. We're comfortable in our skin, we know what we need to do in every game."
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson: "We didn't put our stamp on the game, we didn't play the football we wanted to play. The good thing is - Celtic won't have seen how we can play.
"This is different from any other game. The surface, how Livi play. It might have been a wake-up call for some of the new boys, but there's a lot more to come. We've a tough game next week, but we'll certainly be better than that."