Manager Post Match

10/03/09: "People who read a paper tomorrow will never understand how much we dominated that game ...

When Jim McIntyre looks back on this league season and explores where the destiny was determined he might come up with the well known phrase "Livingston, I presume." Sometimes you feel that some football managers were watching a different game from you but anyone who was at Almondvale on this cold March evening will easily concur with Jim's assessment of the defeat at Livingston.

"Our football in the first half was absolutely fantastic, it was the way I want to play football. We passed them off the park, we just weren't ruthless enough. We created great goalscoring opportunities tonight; I can count six and that is not including the two world class goals that we scored. Six real goal scoring opportunities and a couple of sitters within that.

"The first goal was a deflection and there's not a lot you can say about that. The last one was a counterattack when we were going for it.

"The other two are poor from our point of view; we dived in at the edge of the box and he (Murray Davidson) has turned, hit a shot from distance and scored. The other one his man has got a free run and he has not defended it properly. Those two were really disappointing.

"People who read a paper tomorrow will never understand how much we dominated that game. Livingston had a 15 minute spell in the second half and even when we went the goals down, we still kept passing it, we still got in behind them and crated chances. Jamie Mole hit the bar as well, it was the way I want to play.

"I thought we were excellent apart from defensively we have just got to do the simple things better. There's not really much more I can say. I cannot praise them highly enough in terms of the way they passed the ball, wanted the ball, bravery on it, overlaps, striker holding it up, link up, third man runs everything - it was all there tonight in an attacking sense.

"That's definitely the way we want to play football. It doesn't happen every other week. Today we really clicked in terms possession of the ball and we created goal scoring opportunities, we just couldn't take them. The be all and end all is winning games and we are in shock but we will win more than we will lose if we play like that."

76 minutes into the match, Kevin Harper came on for the first appearance of 2009 and Macca felt that it was important for the 33 year old winger to get some minutes under his belt especially as the gaffer is without reserve games and has probably too many league and cup games coming in the next month. The two subs withdrawn had done well and were on a high both having scored.

"We have good options now and I wanted to try and win the game with fresh legs. That was no indictment on them because they had scored great goals but I thought I'd freshen it and try and get some minutes into Kevin as well.

"David Graham had done really well, he looked dangerous coming in, coming off the line and sharp turning. He was unlucky in the first half, Roddy (McKenzie) had a great save."

The Manager revealed that Graham Bayne's injured eye opened this morning but he has stitches on his tongue and stitches on his eye. There will be a risk involved in playing him against Partick on Saturday and he could be looking at two or three weeks out if the wounds were to open up again. "In the position he plays, he is not going to be not using his head."

Livi Head of Youth Development Graeme Robertson was put forward to speak to the press. The former Pars favourite praide his young side:-

"We have shown a lot of commitment in the last few weeks under difficult circumstances, the players have certainly put us through the wringer by getting ourselves ahead and giving goals away. It is certainly entertaining for the crowd but we managed to get our noses in front.

"Sparky (Griffiths) up front is electric and he gives us a goal threat. We are delighted with the victory because we have had four defeats and a draw on Saturday but it is just good to get a victory under our belt. It is a very tight league, everybody can beat everybody in the league."

Graeme who has just led the Lions U19 team to two back to back U19 SFL league championships praised all the talent that has fed into the first team from that level:-

"We work really hard at Livingston bringing the kids through and they get an opportunity because the manager has seen them and if they are good enough they will get an opportunity. Andrew Halliday is only 17 year old, Sparky is only 18 year old and then we have Cammy (MacDonald) and Keaghan (Jacobs); Murray Davidson has been here since he was 13. I think that's the way we need to go.

"Sparky came in at under 17 level, he was too good for them so we moved him up to under 19s when Alex Cleland was here. We had a look and felt we needed to get him under contract. He is going right to the top, there's no doubt about that."