David Martindale said a split second, when a player switched off in a wide area, cost Livingston dear.
The mistake against Aberdeen came after 80 minutes and former Livingston player, Nicky Devlin, who made over 100 appearances for the West Lothian club, latched on to a cross from Topi Keskinen.
Keskinen, a second-half substitute, found Devlin at the back post and the Bishopriggs-born player, made no mistake, sending the ball into the bottom corner.
Signal joy from the large travelling support, including a flare landing on the pitch, it was red, surprise, and real disappointment from home fans, and their normally ebullient manager.
Martindale was down after the final whistle. His men had dominated the first half, and portions of the second, but they must rue missed chances with Mahamadou Susoho, whose smooth distribution and silky touch was a feature of the early play, Lewis Smith, lanky striker Teti Yengi and defender Daniel Finalayson – his was arguably the most clear-cut – failing to make the net bulge. Aberdeen goalkeeper, Dimitar Mitov did, however, make some key saves.
Narrow defeats earlier in the season. Zero points from their recent trip to Ibrox amid penalty controversy. Zero points against Aberdeen at home. Two close games when Livingston competed but emerged with nothing to show for 180-plus minutes of effort.
Jimmy Thelin’s Scottish Cup holders move up to seventh in the 12-strong table after an unbeaten run of six games. They now have 17 points from 13 fixtures. Livingston anchor the rest and have not registered a win in 12 games, a depressing run stretching back to August 9. That was a 3-1 victory over another promoted side, Falkirk, last season’s Championship winners, at The Home of the Set Fare Arena.
For the record, Falkirk are sixth in the Premiership with 20 points from 14 games.
Livingston currently have eight points from 14 starts and sit two adrift of second-bottom St Mirren, who have played a game less, and three below Kilmarnock who have also competed in 14 games. Dundee are ninth thanks to their 3-1 home win over struggling St Mirren on Tayside on Saturday. They have 12 points from 14 games.
Dons boss Thelin sportingly praised their hosts for their first-half performance, saying that Livingston had good movement, did good things and created chances. The Swedish-born manager also pin-pointed Livingston front-man Teti Yengi as a significant threat on the day.
Fine words from the Swede who has, himself, suffered highs and lows since coming into the William Hill Premiership.
Aberdeen, however, found a way to stay in the game, thanks to efficient defending, and that provided the platform to secure the three points. They ultimately reaped their reward thanks to Devlin’s smart finish.
Martindale admitted the defeat was difficult to take and he added: “We should have taken something from the game. We had a lot of control, good entries into the final third, but we shot ourselves in the foot with a bad decision which leads to the goal.
“It is a hard one because 95 per cent of the players can hold their heads high. I’m not going to name individuals. I have to take responsibility. It’s my job to find a way to win games.”
