Cammy Palmer and Tyrese Sinclair slotted as Livingston earned a moral-boosting 2-1 win over Hearts at Almondvale on Friday in a pre-season challenge which doubled as Scott Pittman’s Testimonial.
Palmer, a 26-year-old Irishman, nodded home at the back post and 25-year-old, Sinclair, who joined the club from York City on July 1, dived to head home minutes later, to delight home fans and take Livi to a 2-0 lead.
French-born Tom Renaud, one of Hearts’ summer signings, pulled one back for the Jambos, but the win must have given The Lions new Irish-born head coach, Glenn Whelan, a boost.
Other pre-season games have seen Livi beat Dundee 2-0 and Alloa Athletic 3-0 but now, the phoney war stops and the real stuff begins as Livingston travel to Brechin City on Tuesday in Group E of the Premier Sports Cup.
Brechin, who play in the Lowland League, East, division, were thumped 6-0 at Partick Thistle on Saturday in their opening Premier Sports Cup fixture with three goals coming in the first half, including two from 35-year-old, former Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Kilmarnock and Ross County player, Thurso-born, Gary Mackay-Steven.
Tickets are now on sale and the match at Glebe Park marks the start of a new campaign under Whelan and Livingston are looking to get off to a perfect start with a win.
Adult briefs are £15 and concessions £10 with youths also £10 and under-12s are free and fans can buy their tickets from Fanbase.
A club spokesman said: “The support our fans provide, both home and away, is always greatly appreciated and we’re looking forward to seeing plenty of you make the trip to cheer on the team.”
Capacity at Glebe Park, incidentally, is 4,083 and this includes 1,519 covered seats. The pitch is grass.
