Hibernian woes continue with defeat to Livingston

By Sports Desk August 26, 2023

Hibernian’s disappointing start to the season continued as Livingston secured a deserved 3-2 win at Easter Road in the cinch Premiership.

The visitors took an early lead as the unfortunate Jordan Obita got the final touch as he slid in with Scott Pittman to turn the ball into his own net.

Martin Boyle pulled Hibs level with a stunning solo goal early in the second half but Bruce Anderson restored Livi’s advantage with a header just a minute later.

And another Livingston substitute, Mo Sangare, heaped further misery on Hibs as he lashed home a spectacular third for the visitors from just outside the area.

Josh Campbell got on the scoresheet as Hibs threatened a comeback but it was in vain as they fell to a third straight defeat in the league to increase the pressure on manager Lee Johnson.

The Hibs boss had made five changes to the side who were humbled 5-0 by Aston Villa in Europe on Wednesday, with Rocky Bushiri, Riley Harbottle, Allan Delferriere, James Jeggo and Christian Doidge coming into the starting line-up.

Livingston manager David Martindale, meanwhile, made just two changes with Jamie Brandon and Scott Pittman replacing Steven Kelly and Cristian Montano.

After a scrappy start to the game it was the visitors who grabbed the advantage in the eighth minute. James Penrice delivered a delicious low cross from the left and Pittman and Obita slid in together at the back post, with the Hibs defender credited with the own goal.

Hibernian looked to reply and Doidge had their first chance after a quarter of an hour as he glanced a header over following an inswinging cross from Delferriere.

Livi were happy to play on the counter-attack as the half progressed but Hibs struggled to create anything of note despite lots of possession and the home fans made their feelings known as the half-time whistle was blown.

Hibs were forced into a change at the interval as David Marshall was replaced by Max Boruc and the young goalkeeper was called into action almost immediately, making a crucial stop as Joel Nouble went through one on one after a Will Fish error.

The home side had improved slightly after the break and they did haul themselves level just after the hour mark through a moment of magic. Boyle was released by a Doidge flick-on and the winger showed all his pace as he cut onto his left foot and thrashed a thunderous strike past Shamal George.

Hibs’ joy was short-lived though and the majority of fans inside Easter Road were left stunned just a minute later as Livingston’s lead was restored. The tireless Penrice was the architect again as he stood up a deep cross that was headed home by substitute Anderson with virtually his first touch.

It soon got worse for the hosts. Nouble had given the home defence a torrid afternoon and it was his inch-perfect aerial ball that released Sangare, who drilled home a thunderous half-volley with his left foot from just outside the box.

Livingston nearly made it 4-1 through Nouble before Hibs cut the deficit as Campbell tapped home on 86 minutes to set up a grandstand finish.

But the hosts were unable to find a leveller as their pointless start to their campaign continued, while Livingston secured their first away league win since January.

Related items

  • Chicago Fire 1-4 Inter Miami: Suarez on target once more in road win Chicago Fire 1-4 Inter Miami: Suarez on target once more in road win

    Luis Suarez scored two and orchestrated another as Inter Miami cruised to a 4-1 win over Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on Saturday.

    His shot led to the opening own goal before his second-half double put the game out of reach as Miami stretched their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to nine points. 

    Suarez played a neat one-two with Diego Gomez to set up a strike from the edge of the box, and though Chris Brady did well to save it, he pushed it straight against Tobias Salquist, who chested it over the line 25 minutes in.

    The Uruguayan thumped a free header against the bar minutes later, but finally got his reward just after the break – he raced in behind before slotting a neat shot in at the near post.

    Alba then picked him out for his second in the 65th minute, fizzing a low cross into the six-yard box for him to guide past Brady.

    Gomez was unlucky from distance as his drilled shot hit the inside of the post before Georgios Koutsias' instinctive close-range finish beat Drake Callender.

    Substitute Robert Taylor then rounded off the scoring with a lovely first-time finish in stoppage time.

    Data Debrief: Suarez continues to step up in Messi's absence

    Miami have now been without their talisman Lionel Messi for three months due to the Copa America and an ankle injury, but Suarez has proven once again that they still pose a threat without him.

    He has scored four times from a total of 12 shots since MLS resumed, with nine of those coming in this game. 

    The 37-year-old ran the show, leading the team in expected goals (1.4), shots on target (five), touches in the box (eight) and big chances (four).

  • Fonseca shrugs off talk of rift with Milan duo Fonseca shrugs off talk of rift with Milan duo

    Paulo Fonseca was quick to dismiss talk of any tension with Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez, who both appeared to snub him shortly after coming off the bench.

    The pair came off the bench to help earn a 2-2 draw with Lazio on Saturday, being brought on in a quadruple change by Fonseca after being left out of the starting line-up. 

    Milan were losing 2-1 at the time of their introduction, and they immediately turned things around, with Hernandez and debutant Tammy Abraham, another substitute, involved in Leao's equaliser.

    Minutes later, the game stopped for a cooling break, with both managers using the opportunity to instruct their players, but both Leao and Hernandez remained on the far side of the pitch, taking no part in the team talk.

    "The situation with Theo and Leao, there is no problem and I think Theo has already explained," Fonseca told DAZN.

    "We don't need to create any problems. This week I spoke with the players and they accepted my decision. There is no problem, I was concentrated, and I didn't see that they weren't there."

    Hernandez had already given his reasons immediately after the game.

    "We had been on for two minutes, we didn't need the cooling break," Hernandez said.

    "It was nothing against the team and the coach. Then people talk, say things that aren't true. Rafa and I are always with the team to help, and that is the important thing."

    Milan are still without a league win this season after three games, but Fonseca says he saw a decent performance in the opening half, giving him something to work on.

    "We had a good first half. We always managed the game well with the ball. When you control the game like this, we have to have more moments to become dangerous, but it's something we have to work on," Fonseca told Milan TV.

    "We must always have the courage we had in the first half because we did good things. If we had won the other two games, this could have been a good result, but it is not so. But we have to start from today's first half."

  • Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win

    Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.

    Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.

    With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.

    Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.

    Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.

    Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home

    Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.

    Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.