Lewis Smith provided the cross for Scott Pittman to level at Rugby Park in Livingston’s opening fixture in the William Hill Premiership against Kilmarnock last Saturday.
The goal arrived with four minutes of regulation time remaining and in a game Livi boss David Martindale believes his men were worth a point, at least.
Statistics back up the manager. The visitors had 15 shots against eight in reply, six were on target against two from Killie, and The Lions enjoyed 65 per cent of possession and accumulated a total of 479 passes against 264 by the home team.
Now, the 25-year-old midfield player is determined to kick-on from that and, personally, to make a real impact this season.
A win over lst year’s Championship winners, Falkirk, at the Home of the Set Fare Arena on Saturday (15.00) would be a massive boost.
The Scotland under-17 and under-21 cap moved from Hamilton, where he made 120 appearances, to West Lothian in 2024 and, since then, Smith has made 26 appearances, scoring three times.
The player reflected on the visit to Rugby Park by revealing it was a tough first-half when Livingston went 2-0 down, Djenairo Daniels netting after 38 minutes and David Watson four minutes later, however, Smith felt the goals conceded were “a bit sloppy”, but the boys, he said, bounced back, showing great resilience to level.
The red card shown to Killie defender George Stanger after 65 minutes proved a turning point and Smith, a substitute, said: “A point on the road at a difficult venue, especially how the game went, was decent, but you are looking to win games like that.”
Looking ahead, the player added: “Everybody is really positive (in the Livingston dressing-room). Everyone looks forward to every game, especially at home, and everybody is looking forward to the first home game of the season. Hopefully, we can win.
“At home, you want to get points off anybody, but Falkirk we know. We played them a few times last year and managed to win, but they got a decent result last week (a 2-2 home draw with Dundee United), so it will be tough game.
“Hopefully, we will have four points in the bag at 5pm on Saturday night. Four points from two games would be a great start.”
Smith is delighted to be back playing in the William Hill Premiership and is determined to help the team as best he can, but the West Lothian club have a tough run of fixtures ahead.
Smith confirmed that the players are aware of that, but the club are taking one game at a time this term.
He said that all the new players at the club have bedded in well and he also rates Livingston’s new pitch. He added: “You can see the change, the ball moves quicker, and I don’t think there will be any complaints.”
IN FOCUS: Lewis Smith on the new pitch at Livingston where Falkirk visit on Saturday. By Nigel Duncan
