Holt happy as Livi match brawn with brains

Posted Sunday, September 02, 2018 by PA

New Livingston manager Gary Holt hailed his side’s creative talents after they marked his home debut with a shock 2-1 win over Hibernian.

The Premiership newcomers moved into joint second in the table after goals from Shaun Byrne and Scott Pittman cancelled out Daryl Horgan’s opener for Hibs to earn the Lions back-to-back victories following last week’s success against St Mirren.

Holt has insisted he has no intention of altering his team’s combative style since taking over from Kenny Miller.

But the former Falkirk boss is adamant the win over Hibs is proof there is more to the West Lothian outfit than meets the eye.

He said: “We are built on a reputation of being in your face, on the front foot, tenacious, aggressive in the right areas, so we know that we will keep going until the final whistle.

“It wasn’t a great goal we lost, but in the final third we’ve got creative players who can create chances and score.

“Yes, we get stick for scoring from set-plays and throws (but) look at the two goals today – you won’t see a better two this weekend.

“Scott Pittman showed great composure, skill and calmness for his goal. I’d have panicked and booted it over the bar in that situation.

“That and last Saturday is how we play, we’ve got to be at it every single game.

“If they give me their all week in, week out, then we will get results like that.”

The defeat was Hibernian’s first of the domestic campaign and came after they had edged in front in a tight game with Horgan’s strike just six minutes after the break.

Manager Neil Lennon was upset with Pittman’s winner, claiming referee Steven McLean should not have allowed play to restart so quickly after the visitors made a substitution.

However, he refused to blame the decision for the defeat.

He said: “The ref let the free-kick go too soon. I didn’t see him blow the whistle and that’s why I had my hands out.

“I don’t know if our players were ready for it and it’s a major bone of contention. We were waiting for the ref to restart the game, which he didn’t do.

“But I can’t just point the finger at that. It was really poor defending for both the goals.

“It was awful defending. The goals will look brilliant on TV but it was inexcusable from us.”