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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Callum Carson

Livingston boss David Martindale bemoans lack of cutting edge in recent games

A frustrated David Martindale admitted the Lions are costing themselves points after they conceded late on for the second successive league game.

The hosts were dominant against St Mirren at the weekend - albeit they were in front in fluke circumstances when Bruce Anderson’s effort bounced off the post before hitting the striker as he fell to the ground and rolling into the net.

However, the Buddies would snatch a draw with a 78th minute strike from the edge of the box by Greg Kiltie with their only shot on target in the contest.

It comes off the back of missing a late penalty away to Ross County to open up a 2-0 lead - before conceding an equaliser late in stoppage time in Dingwall.

And last weekend the Lions were dumped out of the Scottish Cup on penalties against Hearts despite creating the better chances and keeping the Jambos at bay for 120 minutes.

Had Livi been more clinical over that three game stretch, they’d have been sitting in the European places and the Scottish Cup quarter-final but find themselves ninth and dumped out of the cup.

A disgruntled Martindale said: “I’m really disappointed. We created more than enough chances to win at Ross County and we come away with one point.

“We go to Tynecastle and keep a clean sheet for 120 minutes and create the better chances but we’re out the Scottish Cup then against St Mirren we created the better chances.

“We need to have more composure in the final third. I had a go at the offensive players because I think they’ve got to do more. They have to be more clinical.”

He added: “I didn’t at any point feel under pressure from St Mirren and we come away with a draw.

“We gave away a poor corner when we should have hit it out for a throw-in then it’s an easy connection for one of our players to boot it up the park from the corner, he misses it and it falls to the man he’s marking and he puts it in the bottom corner.

“I’m not happy. We’re not showing enough composure in the final third. Yes, we conceded from a set play but it wasn’t from a defensive point of view as such, it was from an error that we should be dealing with easily.

“We got behind them about eight times but our final decision making just isn’t quite right just now.”

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