David Martindale felt that Livingston controlled large portions of their Premier Sports Cup home clash with Highland League outfit, Brora Rangers, but added: “We were a wee bit lucky, if I am honest, at the end, couple of counters, sucker punches.”
The Lions boss also felt that two offside decisions went against the West Lothian club. The one involving Danny Wilson was, he declared, “unbelievable”, but he felt the game was a good workout. His men kept the ball and tried to do the basics well and he felt they did that for the majority of the game.
The Lions boss added: “We got two goals, kept a clean sheet and, when you look around you, these games are difficult. You are expected to win them and if you don’t win them by four, five, everybody is complaining.
“Results coming in (on Saturday) show it (the Premier Sports Cup) is not as easy as it is made out to be.”
Martindale (pictured at a media briefing by Nigel Duncan) says his new-look squad still have work to do before the opening game in the William Hill Premiership at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock on Saturday, August 2 (15.00), but he added: “I think we will be OK by then, still a wee bit rusty, but I can we are getting better week-by-week.
“That is us now into a proper training regime at the stadium.”
The straight-talking playcaller said: “When we came back we were training at Broxburn, we went to Holland, we came back and were at Murieston and then East Calder and we trained here and we were away at Kilmarnock (in the Premier Sports Cup).
“I am now looking to getting back to a Saturday, Saturday schedule at Livingston.”
Livingston have re-laid their pitch at the Home of the Set Fare Arena and he felt the new surface performed well, even after a downpour just after the start of the game.
Martindale added: “The ball moved very quick, and it is probably truer than the previous surface. There were a couple today when I felt it stopped us progressing the game.
“Sam Culbert played a couple of through balls and the ball kind of ran out because of the surface, so I felt it was a true surface and really good and it allowed you to get the tempo in the game up.”
There is no doubt that The Lions dominated possession against Brora, 64 per cent against 36 per cent, and had 17 shots against five, but the boss said that turning possession into chances was always a hard part in football.
He added: “I they are sitting in a mid to low block, the game becomes difficult with ten players behind the ball, ten players in the 18-yard box, but I was disappointed we did not do a wee bit more with that possession.
“We created enough chances to have done a little more, but their keeper made a big save from I think Andy Winter, Robbie Muirhead was off the bar, there were a couple instances where we came close.
“I thought Zak Rudden took his goal (a header inside the box) really, really well, and he was a wee bit unlucky when he got onto another, so the longer the game went on, I don’t want to be disrespectful (to Brora), the easier the game became.”
He argued that he was trying to win games of football in the Premier Sports Cup but also working on the basic level of fitness for the players and trying to prepare for the rigours of the William Hill Premiership which lie ahead.
The boss added: “We are now into six games so, come Kilmarnock away (in the league) we should be in a better place.”
Overall, Martindale felt the structure of his men behind the ball requires polishing in training this week ahead of their home clash with Scottish League One side Kelty Hearts in the Premier Sports Cup next Saturday (kick-off 15.00).
There is disappointing news, however, for Livingston FC defender, Cameron Kerr. Martindale revealed that the player does not need an operation, which is positive, but the 29-year-old will be sidelined for some time after suffering an early-season injury. The timescale could be three to four months.
Meanwhile, there were no knocks to report from the Brora win in which 16 of his players received some game time.
