Match report as Livingston's stay in the cinch Premiership ends with a draw with Hibernian
Sunday 19 May 2024 20:59, UK
Relegated Livingston ended their six-year stay in the cinch Premiership with a 1-1 draw with Hibernian at the Tony Macaroni Arena, as Bruce Anderson cancelled out Myziane Maolida's deflected strike.
In a match that meant little to either side in terms of league position, the match lacked quality until Maolida connected well with a left-footed attempt that took a nick and flew into the far corner shortly after half-time.
But Anderson ensured Livingston's disappointing campaign would not end in another defeat as he neatly brought down Joel Nouble's cross before sliding the ball home.
The draw means Hibs end a poor campaign in eighth place, while the Lions - whose relegation was confirmed earlier this month - will continue to prepare for life in the Championship.
Both managers made just one change from their midweek fixtures, with Andrew Shinnie coming in for Steven Bradley for Livi and Jordan Obita replacing Lewis Stevenson in the Hibs starting line-up.
It was the home side who had the first effort on target as Michael Nottingham met a Sean Kelly corner in the 12th minute but his headed effort was saved comfortably by Joseph Wollacott.
It took until the 29th minute for the next chance as Nectarios Triantis played a neat one-two with Joe Newell before firing narrowly wide of the post via a deflection.
Josh Campbell then fired just past the opposite post from a similar position in the 37th minute and Newell saw another long-range effort easily saved moments later as a forgettable opening period ended goalless.
The first half may have been uneventful but it took only four minutes of the second half for the game's first goal as the visitors grabbed the opener.
Maolida showered persistence at the edge of the box and, after having an effort blocked, his left-footed attempt took a deflection and flew into the top right-hand corner, leaving Livi keeper Shamal George with no chance.
Hibs looked to extend their lead and Campbell volleyed over when well placed before Livingston grabbed the equaliser on 67 minutes.
Nouble was the architect with a dangerous inswinging cross and - after Obita and Nottingham collided in the six yard box - the ball was expertly brought down by Anderson who slotted a cool finish past Wollacott.
Hibs began to pepper the Livingston goal as they looked to get back in front, with Adam Le Fondre volleying over and Obita and Martin Boyle seeing attempts blocked.
Anderson then thought he had won it for the hosts in the 84th minute as he raced through to finish but the assistant referee's flag was up for offside as the match ended all square.
Livingston manager David Martindale: "To see the fans at the end applauding means a huge amount to me, the staff and the players. For me that's what this club is all about.
"We've punched above our weight for the last six years and we've been relegated but the fans are still getting behind the players.
"We've come up a wee bit short. That's not a secret but I give a huge thanks to the fans because they gave the players the send off they deserve.
"You're probably going to find that 50 per cent of the players are going to be here next year. Out of that 50 per cent, probably nine or 10 of them are Premiership players and then we will add to that.
"So I don't think you'll see a huge difference in personnel and there's going to be a few names around that the fans are familiar with but it's given us a chance to have a massive reset and bring some new blood in. We half tried that in the summer but finances dictated what we could do in the market."
Hibernian interim boss David Gray: "My full focus has been on the difficult period we've been in, it was just to get to the end of the season and moving forward we will find out exactly what is happening.
"The League Cup starts straight away so you need to start next season with a clear idea of what needs to be done because Hibs need to be competing for the opportunities to win trophies and that competition starts very early.
"On reflection, every time I've been in the position you always get a little taste for it to find out exactly what went well and what didn't and I think that every time I've been in the position I've learned from previous experiences has definitely helped."
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