Livingston

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

"We need to change the narrative," said Livingston manager David Martindale after the home defeat by Aberdeen.

He's right. Our recurring theme of being nearly men needs to change. We bossed this game, created some good chances and nearly scored. We nearly won.

But we ended with another defeat despite deserving minimum a point.

There is no obvious answer here to change our fortunes. The team are playing well, we are so, so close in every game but can't get over the line for a much-needed win.

Every player did their jobs well against an unimpressive Aberdeen, but it's that dreaded individual blunder that is our undoing.

I like how the manager didn't dig anyone out for the errors. Mistakes will always happen in a game of football - we seem to be punished for every one of ours just now.

There isn't any point of us fans bleating about it. I think the players are as gutted as we are, the manager certainly sounds it after games.

Surely if we keep at it, keep working to the levels we currently are, we will turn a corner and get some wins.

This needs to happen very quickly in the run of games we have ahead. We are playing teams around us so some points will shift us up the table and hopefully change the narrative too.

Watch highlights from Aberdeen's Scottish Premiership win over Livingston on Sunday.

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Nicky Devlin's late header gave disjointed Aberdeen victory over Scottish Premiership bottom side Livingston as their unbeaten run extended to six matches.

Why can Livingston not turn performances into points?

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Livingston manager David Martindale: "It's a difficult one to take. It was the same last week [against Rangers] but I papered over the cracks with the decision which went against us.

"But we've got to do better in the game, we should take something. We had a lot of control, good entries into the final third.

"But we shoot ourselves in the foot with a bad decision in a wide area which leads to the goal. And we're not picking up in the box when we should be picking up.

"It's a hard one because 95% of the players can hold their heads high. But I'm not going to name individual names because I have to take responsibility as well. It's my job to find a way to win games of football.

"I can't keep standing here saying the same old things. We should've, we could've, we never.

"The goal is to get off the bottom of the table by 2026. I knew this year would be difficult. Did I think it would be as difficult as it has played out? No, I'll be honest there."

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Livingston manager David Martindale feels Sunday's opponents Aberdeen are in a "false position" in the top flight.

Jimmy Thelin's side are eighth in the table, six points above Livingston at the bottom before Sunday's trip to the Home of the Set Fare Arena.

Despite a tricky start for the Dons, who failed to score in their first seven league matches, they've picked up four wins in their last six.

"I've never felt Aberdeen have been as bad as their league position suggests," Martindale said.

"I think they're a good team, I've watched them, I've played against them. And even the first half up at Pittodrie [a 0-0 draw in September], I thought they were very, very good against us so I think they're in a wee bit of a false position.

"I rate them as a group. Hopefully we can use the fact they had a game on Thursday to our advantage on Sunday, but it's not going to be an easy game.

"If you were to sit here and ask, 'do you think Aberdeen will finish in the top six come the end of the season?', I'd probably say 'yes'."

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Livingston welcome back Joshua Brenet following his World Cup exploits with Curacao, while Connor McLennan is back in contention and Cammy Kerr (ankle) is closing in on a return.

Mo Sylla is set to join Aidan Denholm and Shane Blaney (both hamstring) and Adam Montgomery (calf) on the sidelines.

Aberdeen remain without Kristers Tobers (knee).

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• Livingston are unbeaten in four home league games against Aberdeen (W2 D2) since a 2-1 reverse in August 2021. Both of their past two at home to the Dons, though, have finished 0-0.

• Aberdeen are unbeaten in six league meetings with Livingston (W3 D3) since a 2-1 defeat in November 2022.

• Should Livingston lose, they will be the first side to earn eight or fewer points from their first 14 games of a Scottish Premiership season since Hamilton in 2020-21 (eight). Six of the past eight sides to have eight or fewer points from their first 14 matches went on to be relegated.

• Aberdeen have won four of their past six league games (D1 L1), more than their previous 17 beforehand (W3 D4 L10).

• Aberdeen are winless in 10 away league games against newly-promoted opponents (D3 L7) since a 3-1 win over Ross County in November 2019. The Dons have lost their past four away league games to promoted clubs in a row.

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The error that led to Livingston being denied a crucial penalty in last weekend's 2-1 defeat by Rangers has been confirmed by the Scottish FA's key match incident panel.

Livingston manager David Martindale had already revealed that VAR referee John Beaton had phoned him to apologise for not advising match official Ross Hardie to review the footage.

Now the independent KMI panel has unanimously agreed that the on-field decision was incorrect, that VAR should have intervened to recommend a review, and that a penalty kick should have been awarded for handball.

Livingston striker Teti Yengi's shot struck the arm of Rangers centre-half Emmanuel Fernandez on its way to goal when the score was 1-1 at Ibrox.

However, the KMI panel unanimously agreed that referee Hardie had been incorrect to disallow Mohamed Diomande's late winner for Rangers for offside in the same game - and that VAR was correct in intervene, with the goal standing.

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David Martindale believes bottom club Livingston are now "much better equipped" to avoid the drop than when they were relegated two seasons ago.

Livi, who host Aberdeen on Sunday, are winless in 12 games in all competitions but Martindale is remaining upbeat despite his side sitting a point adrift at the foot of the table.

"100 per cent, the club's much better equipped, not just the team, the club," he said.

"The club's in a much, much better place, and I can only sit here from a position of positivity.

"If you'd sat here with me two years ago, you could see the pressure and the stress I was under and how difficult the job actually was.

"I don't feel that now, I feel supported from above, and I believe in what we've got in the changing room, I believe in what we've got.

"Do I believe, as a club, we're going in the right direction? Yep, I do.

"I'm fairly pleased with where we are as a group, not accepting where we are in the league position – I'm not happy about that – but there's a lot more positives within this season than negatives."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Manager David Martindale says John Beaton phoned him to apologise for Livingston incorrectly being denied a penalty in the 2-1 defeat to Rangers last weekend.

Beaton was the VAR at Ibrox but neglected to advise match official Ross Hardie to review the footage after Livingston striker Teti Yengi's shot struck the arm of Emmanuel Fernandez when the score was 1-1.

Livingston chairman Calvin Ford said on Wednesday the Scottish FA had admitted it was a mistake not to award a spot-kick.

And Martindale said: "I think it was a high level discussion at the club. John phoned me personally. Good discussion. I've not got a problem with it, honestly. It's an honest mistake.

"That's where we were. We move on. There's no use me sitting here talking about it any more because I'm not going to use any of my time and energy on a decision that ruined what should have been a half-decent weekend for the club and the players."

Martindale also called for officials in the Scottish Premiership and Championship to be made full-time over the next few years to improve the standard.

He said: "I think we've got to get to a place where officials for at least the two top leagues are full-time, whether that's a bank of 14, 16, 24 officials.

"For me, the only way forward would be are you going to be better at your job if that's your only job? Are you going to be better at your job if you're putting more hours into your job? I feel that's the only avenue open now.

"I don't think this is a refereeing problem. I think this is a Scottish football problem. And it's not something we can push to the side and say the referees need to deal with that. I don't think that's fair.

"I think as a collective, SPFL, SFA and the clubs, we need to find a better solution to use the technology better, and I think the only way to do that would realistically be full-time referees for the top two leagues."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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David Martindale has been speaking to the media before Livingston's home match against Aberdeen on Sunday.

Here are the main points from his press conference:

• Martindale revealed referee John Beaton phoned him to apologise for not awarding Livingston a penalty in their defeat to Rangers at Ibrox.

• The Livi boss says they will "move on" from the decision but wants to see full-time referees introduced to the league over the next few years.

• He adds: "If you've got two jobs, and being a referee's not your primary job, are you going to be able to do it to the best of your ability?"

• He also suggested having former professional footballers in the VAR room could help in making decisions quicker and easier.

• Martindale is expecting a tough game against Aberdeen and says they are a "better team" than their league position suggests.

• There are no fresh injury concerns for Livi.

Stuart Barrie
Fan writer

Another defeat but one we can take lots of positives from.

Taking a point at Ibrox is a very rare thing for us and so is getting a penalty. There is no dodging it, we were denied a clear and obvious spot-kick.

The handball was obvious in real time so I have no idea why VAR didn't get involved.

David Martindale was right to call it out after the game, but it will change nothing. Midweek apologies are useless.

One of the things I enjoyed most when we played in the Championship was the absence of VAR.

You knew to celebrate if it was a goal, you knew that if the referee didn't see something then the game played on and there was no endless dissecting of decisions. Life was simpler and dare I say better.

We do have it in the top flight but it seems it operates at different levels for different teams.

Performance wise we played well at Ibrox. We prevented Rangers having it all their own way and even mounted a few good attacks.

It wasn't our usual two banks of five, we had a go and gave Rangers problems. We can go into this weekend's game against Aberdeen with confidence and strong hope of three much-needed points.

Livingston assistant manager Marvin Bartley believes his side were denied a blatant penalty for hand ball in their defeat by Rangers but says he was told that VAR John Beaton decided centre-half Emmanuel Fernandez "was in close proximity to the ball when it was struck" and "there was nothing to be reviewed". (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Watch the Sportscene panel analyse Livingston's penalty claim for handball in their 2-1 defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Watch all the highlights from Rangers' 2-1 victory over Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.

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Livi fans, we asked for your views on the 2-1 defeat to Rangers.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Ian: Will Rangers be releasing a statement asking why Livingston never got a clear penalty or is it only an injustice when it goes against them?

William: What is the purpose of VAR? I see no mass hysteria about referee SFA conspiracies this time as it was in Rangers' favour.

Eddie: Livingston should have been awarded a penalty and the VAR team should have asked the referee to go to the monitor in real time. It's a difficult one for the ref but that's what VAR is for to give the opportunity to review it.

Malky: It's a penalty. We know it's not a blatant hand ball BUT Livi are denied a goal scoring opportunity and that means a penalty must be given.

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Livingston manager David Martindale tells BBC Scotland: "I think it's a clear, clear penalty. For the life of me, I don't understand how it's not given.

"We can depend the second goal better. We've got to take a bit of responsibility for that, but I don't know where to go with the handball decision.

"It's a shot on target, hits Fernandez's arm and we get told it's not a penalty.

"I probably won't phone Willie because by tomorrow, I'll have just went 'what's the point?'

"I'd like Willie to phone me and explain that one. The technology isn't getting used properly.

"I would argue it's not in a natural position, he makes a movement towards the ball and it's on target. I know if that's at Livingston against us, it's a penalty against us.

"When we're spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on technology to get big decisions right, it's disappointing.

"I'm not going to sit here and batter officials and batter VAR, I just don't understand.

"Defensively, we were fairly comfortable. The first goal, you take that one on the chin. Good delivery and the height of him, it's difficult to defend.

"When I look at the overall stats, I think we have the best chance - there's a lot to like in the performance, but we need to start [winning].

"The team should take a lot of heart from that. I think we'll be OK, I really do."

Rangers earned a fourth successive Scottish Premiership win under head coach Danny Rohl, taking the points in controversial fashion to extend Livingston's long winless league run to 11 games.

Read the match report.

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