Robbie Muirhead was introduced as a second-half substitute as Livingston entertained Dundee in their first pre-season friendly, and the player made a big impression, not just for his new, blond hair.
Bustling Muirhead claimed two goals in 14 sensational minutes, the hairo-dynamic striker opening the scoring by rising above the Dundee defence to nod home after 67 minutes.
A he followed that up with an explosive second, blasting the ball past Dundee goalkeeper, Harrison Sharp. He dived but the ball flew into the net.
The 30-year-old man of many clubs, including Kilmarnock, Dundee United, Heart of Midlothian, Milton Keynes Dons, Dunfermline Athletic and Greenock Morton, was also involved in other moves which could have brought reward. Fired-up Muirhead showed his frustration when they didn’t.
Indeed, during a dominant period in the second-half, Livingston hit the crossbar twice, once through substitute Ellis Stevenson, an 18-year-old midfielder and a product of the club’s Academy, and then from midfielder Cammy Palmer, a York-born product of Rangers Youth Academy, who was raised in Canada and recruited in May from Irish side, Glentoran FC.
Incidentally, teenager Stevenson did himself no harm at all with his substitute appearance on the right side of the team.
Livi’s watching new coach, Glenn Whelan, must, however, have been impressed with the impact made by his team, who dominated periods of the game, and with all-action, Irvine-born Muirhead. His insertion certainly lived up a decent pre-season game in which the new playcaller will have learned a great deal.
Another recent signing, Liam Polworth, also made an impact. A crunching, ball-winning tackle in the early minutes signalled his intentions, and the 31-year-old, ex-Kilmarnock midfielder, who sat in front of the back four, made his mark before coming off.
Versatile, Columbian-born, Cristian Montano, a long-standing member of the squad, also played his part in the encouraging 2-0 win, his driving runs troubling the men from Dens Park, and experienced former St Johnstone and Aberdeen striker, Stevie May, was lively and proved a nuisance to the Tayside team’s defence.
Dundee-born Cammy Kerr, who made over 270 appearances for the Dens men, linked well on the right and Portugal-born left-back Babacar Fati, who started his career with to Portuguese club, Sporting CP, and joined the Livingston club in January, showed some neat touches and robbed an opposition player before providing the pin-point cross for Muirhead to produce his clinical finish for the second goal.
Certainly, it is really early days yet, and Wheelan has only been with working with the squad for two weeks, but the 670 fans who came to watch, including ones near me, shuffled out of Almondvale with optimism about Livingston’s chances in the Championship.
Indeed, wins were a scarce commodity for The Lions last term and fans want a successful team. They are also desperate to see their men back in the top league, but it will be a tough season in the Championship.
Saturday’s match will, however, have given Wheelan, a former Republic of Ireland international, who is perhaps best known for nine years with English side, Stoke City, but did og 15 appearances for Hearts, some pointers and food for thought. He preferred to keep his thoughts to himself, side-stepping the post-match media briefing.
Steven Pressley, his opposite number, did make an appearance and he takes his men to Hungary for pre-season, warm-weather, training next week, making his base in a resort used by one of his predecessors, before embarking on Premier Sports Cup fixtures.
The former Hearts defender understands that the thermometer could be into the high 30’s centigrade and will vary his training to suit, but he felt good after the fixture against what he called an experienced Livingston side.
He has, he said, worked hard on physical and technical aspects since he linked up with the team after their summer break, but he was encouraged by how much his players were able to implement what he called a “tactical undercurrent”.
His longer-serving players, he argued, were aware of his principles but he appreciates that newcomers and younger members of his squad will taking time to get up to speed.
The exposure to competitive play against Livingston was a plus and he added: “All in all, I was really pleased with what we got from the game. It was a good start, but we need a lot of improvements.”
Pressley stressed that changes take time and next week’s training camp will aid that process. He underlined that the club were working hard to secure fresh talent, and he confirmed that he does not have any injury concerns following their trip to West Lothian.
Livingston, meanwhile, are staying at home pre-season and travel to Alloa on Tuesday, June 30 (19.30) before their opening Premier Sports Cup clash at Brechin City on Tuesday, July 14 (19.45). Their first home game in that competition is against Partick Thistle on Saturday, July 18 (15.00).
DRINKING IT IN: Glenn Whelan talking tactics during a break in play at Almondvale. Picture Nigel Duncan
BALL GAMES: Livingston players warm-up before facing Dundee. Picture Nigel Duncan
STRETCHING: Livingston players during pre-game preperation. Picture Nigel Duncan
