MATCH REPORT LIVINGSTON V DUNDEE UNITED

United travelled south to West Lothian for the second match of their cinch Premiership triple header for a clash with the other form team of the division - Livingston.

Almondvale has proved a troublesome venue in recent years for the Terrors, just one win in our last seven visits. That solitary victory came courtesy of goals from Stevie Crawford and James Grady, both netting their third goals of the season, back in 2005 as the bottom two faced off in a relegation six-pointer.

Tam Courts made one change to the side that defeated the Steelmen at the weekend, Our Academy graduate Declan Glass reclaiming his starting spot from Jeando Fuchs who was rested due to the arduous schedule. Nicky Clark dropping into the 10-role was a frequent sight in the opening stages, allowing Ilmari Niskanen and Glass to drift into the central areas. Glass was also called onto defensive duties when out of possession to fill in at right midfield for Peter Pawlett who aided Clark’s aggressive press upfront.

The hosts, who organised themselves in a compact 4-5-1, constantly looked to go long from defence, Ayo Obileye in particular, the Englishman sending lofted balls up towards lone striker Bruce Anderson.

United got on the front foot from the off and carved out an opportunity within 90 seconds. Lovely combination play from Pawlett and Scott McMann allowed the latter time and space to send a low cross towards Clark in the area who diverted the ball narrowly wide of the near post under pressure from Jack Fitzwater.

This rattled the Lions’ cage, and they began to take control of the early stages. Charlie Mulgrew was forced into a vital block to thwart Anderson inside the area, before Williamson fired a half-volley over Benji Siegrist’s crossbar from 20 yards.

The veteran defender came to United’s rescue once more just after the half-hour mark, as Glass’s dispossession led to a threatening Livi counter-attack. Scott Pittman burst forward after pinching the ball off the 21-year-old, and rolled it right to Odin Bailey who fired his effort into Mulgrew.

However, David Martindale’s side would eventually reap the rewards of their sustained pressure a few minutes later. Josh Mullin’s corner met the head of Fitzwater at the near post, forcing Siegrist to touch the ball onto the post. The danger wasn’t cleared though, and the loose ball fell into the path of Anderson on the goal-line after a ricochet off Clark, the ex-Aberdeen man left with the simplest of tasks to thrash the ball into the net from all of two yards.

Once again, United bounced back extremely quickly after losing a goal, displaying their fabulous resilience, Pawlett levelling the scores on the stroke of half-time. Levitt found room in the left half-space after bursting away from Jason Holt, and threaded an exquisite, slide-rule pass through Livingston’s tightly packed defence for Ilmari Niskanen to latch onto. The birthday boy now had a two-on-one scenario with Pawlett to his right. Niskanen executed a sharp shift away from Fitzwater to draw the defender towards him and squared to his colleague for a tap in on the six-yard line.

There was still time for more drama in the first half, Livi defender Williamson being given his marching orders for a high challenge to the ankle of Glass. Martindale’s protestations to the decision led to his own dismissal too. The resultant free-kick from Dylan Levitt drifted all the way to the back post for Ryan Edwards, but the Scouser miscued his header and the ball trundled harmlessly behind for a goal-kick

United took a while to find their feet after the interval and were almost punished for their lackadaisical start when Devlin delivered a teasing cross across the six-yard box following a tangle with Niskanen, no takers in the middle for the hosts thankfully for the Terrors.

Tam Courts’s side began to assert their dominance after the introduction of both Logan Chalmers and Fuchs off the bench, with United starting to find joy in the wider regions through the Academy graduate. Livingston retreated almost entirely into their own half with 20 players packing into the United attacking third a common sight.

Man United loanee Levitt had two strikes from distance, both right-footed half-volleys from the left edge of the area that failed to trouble Max Stryjek between the sticks.

Chalmers picked up where he left off in a United shirt back in August, darting inside onto his preferred left foot and whipping dangerous crosses into the box. One, in particular, proved troublesome for Stryjek, who was caught in two minds as to whether to allow the ball to float wide uninterrupted or touch the ball wide for a corner. The keeper opted to be safe than sorry and awkwardly palmed the ball behind.

Mulgrew arrowed a trademark long-range effort that was destined for the postage stamp following a corner, forcing a top-drawer save out of the Lions’ stopper.

Chalmers continued to threaten and picked out Biamou with a wicked ball from deep. The Frenchman went close to opening his United account with a glancing header, Stryjek once again equal to a United shot on target as time began to run out on the visitors. Biamou was a handful for defenders to deal with after entering the fray, using his physicality well to bring aerial balls under control, however there were few white shirts, if any, around the striker to combine with.

A frustrating evening for United who will maybe rue the missed opportunity to make up ground on Hearts and Rangers who both dropped points, but Courts and the squad can take solace in extending our unbeaten run to seven matches despite the biblical West Lothian downpour which no doubt influenced the tempo of the match.