YOU wait feels like an eternity for just one goal, then two come along in a matter of moments.
Both sets fans who basked in the Tony Macaroni Arena sunshine, and little else, deserved something to shout about for sitting through a gruelling 90 minutes. This was not a classic between Livingston and St Mirren, but it ended up producing a stirring finish as Luiyi de Lucas looked to have won it for the hosts in the 89th minute, only for Stav Nahmani to rescue a point in the 97th with his first goal for the club, one that keeps them top of the Premiership heading into the international break.
Livingston will feel hard done by given the circumstances, but neither side were at their best on the day. Here are 3 talking points from West Lothian.
Not one for the purists
There was an extended first-half stoppage after Andrew Shinnie went hurtling into an aerial duel with Keanu Baccus, flipping over and crashing down on his head. The 34-year-old was treated by medics for a lengthy period before being carried away in a neck brace on a stretcher.
It was, therefore, a relief to see him walking around pitchside during the interval, because there was genuine concern for his welfare as he lay motionless on the floor.
“He’s OK," manager David Martindale confirmed. "He was in the changing room at the end. I thought the medical team dealt with it very, very well.
“We caught him half-time walking into the medical room. He’s a bit groggy but he’s OK. Seeing him probably gave the boys a lift."
Chances were scarce the first period. St Mirren fashioned two near-identical opportunities via Conor McMenamin cutting in from the right and dropping crosses onto the heads of Keanu Baccus and then Greg Kiltie, but neither found the net.
As the interval approached, however, it was Livingston who looked the more likely. They continued to be industrious and forward-thinking after the restart, but couldn't find that incisiveness until the very end. Frequent cheap fouls on both sides didn’t help the lack of flow, nor did the long break in play.
Livi defend impressively
While there wasn’t much in the way of thrills and spills, Livingston’s resolute rearguard nonetheless deserve their plaudits. Those aforementioned McMenamin deliveries aside, St Mirren toiled to create much else of note until the late, late goal. Having been served two warnings of his crossing ability, Livingston kept him quiet from then on.
Olutoysi Olusanya got very little out of de Lucas nor Ayo Obileye, although he did get plenty of jip from the Livingston support for what they perceived as repeatedly hitting the deck too easily. Perhaps it was a sign of the striker’s frustration that he sought to buy fouls so frequently, given how sturdily Livingston’s defence were standing up to him.
Livingston had failed to score in three of their last four heading into this encounter, and they appeared set to be denied again. Bruce Anderson thought he’d finally broken the deadlock after being played in behind by Jason Holt, but VAR ruled he’d strayed offside.
A stalemate looked inevitable until Stephen Kelly’s free-kick was flicked into the path of Mo Sangare, and he squared for de Lucas to tap home what seemed a certain winner, until…
Saints can be better
This was so nearly a poor performance and result for Saints until Nahmani forced home a scrappy equaliser, after Alex Gogic nodded a free-kick into the six-yard box in the dying seconds. It was a real get out of jail moment, and manager Stephen Robinson will know his team can be much better. Yet he was pleased they showed the character to not accept defeat.
"Any time you come here, you don't roll Livingston over," he said. "We had to fight and scrap. It wasn't pretty on the eye, not as fluent as we have been.
"But the character the boys showed to get a point was fantastic. A point was deserved, I don't think we deserved to win. But we're happy with our start."
It really looked like it wasn’t going to be Saints' day going forward when Ryan Strain tried to win a corner by hitting the ball off James Penrice in the second half, only for it to ricochet back off his face and out for a goal-kick.
And having not lost to Livingston in their previous 10 meetings, they will have fancied their chances of maximum points. That record still stands, but by the skin of its teeth.
