Hearts v Livi

[crispy]

At this risk of sounding like a happy clapper… I’m not as doom and gloom about it as I’d never be surprised to lose away to Hearts.

As well as being dead certs for relegation, we are 3/4 points off a European place? Perspective at this stage in the season?

On the game, I actually felt we were ok at 78 mins when the goal went in. The game had settled a bit. How many of those shots from Hearts were inside 18/20 yards? Very few from memory. 

Heard a Hearts fan outside ground say, “…if he meant it or if he just shanked it across goal”, in reference to the assist. I think it was a cleaner pass than that but an element of playing the percentages about it. With a bit of luck we could have had a draw.

 

[BukyOHare]

4 minutes ago, crispy said:

I’m not as doom and gloom about it as I’d never be surprised to lose away to Hearts

As a neutral observer, I'd think that the manner of the defeat rather than the defeat itself would give big concerns.

As has been mentioned this isnt a vintage Hearts team currently either, Livi go 1 down then throw on Bruce Anderson almost immediately. Baffling stuff.

Edited November 1, 2023 by BukyOHare

[Dav nan Gael]

3 minutes ago, crispy said:

At this risk of sounding like a happy clapper… I’m not as doom and gloom about it as I’d never be surprised to lose away to Hearts.

As well as being dead certs for relegation, we are 3/4 points off a European place? Perspective at this stage in the season?

On the game, I actually felt we were ok at 78 mins when the goal went in. The game had settled a bit. How many of those shots from Hearts were inside 18/20 yards? Very few from memory. 

Heard a Hearts fan outside ground say, “…if he meant it or if he just shanked it across goal”, in reference to the assist. I think it was a cleaner pass than that but an element of playing the percentages about it. With a bit of luck we could have had a draw.

 

Crispy it's not that we're getting beat,it's the manner in which it's happening .

[crispy]

Just now, BukyOHare said:

As a neutral observer, I'd think that the manner of the defeat rather than the defeat itself would give big concerns.

As has been mentioned this isnt a vintage Hearts team currently either.

Livi go 1 down tgen throw on Bruce Anderson almost immediately. Baffling stuff.

Yea, I get that and obviously worse would be said if pumped. I just feel like it could’ve been 10 mins away from a ‘stuffy Livi grind it out’ narrative. We were never going to set up to dominate possession. Maybe I am playing devils advocate but Until the goal we didn’t need Anderson to get a positive result. We’d have risked our relative defensive solidity by sacrificing a midfielder for him.

no doubt it would’ve been more fun if we’d played very open but I think we’d have been easy meat for Shankland, Forrest, etc.

[DC92]

8 minutes ago, crispy said:

How many of those shots from Hearts were inside 18/20 yards? Very few from memory. 

 

[crispy]

1 minute ago, DC92 said:

 

Cheers, I don’t remember that many point blank saves from Hamilton. I am an old ba5tard though.

[Insert Amusing Pseudonym]

I've seen plenty defensively minded Livvy set ups, but that was something next level.  

We were goof in large parts but need to get shots off quicker and pick better passes in final 3rd more often.  

[crispy]

11 minutes ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said:

I've seen plenty defensively minded Livvy set ups, but that was something next level.  

We were goof in large parts but need to get shots off quicker and pick better passes in final 3rd more often.  

Hearts were deserved winners. 

[Scrutinizer]

All the original Livi posters on here seem to be turning on their team, what's up guy's???,this team would make your eyes bleed 

That display is an absolute embarrassment to football,playing for a draw got what they deserved.You simply can't go on like this, 10 players defending for 95% of the game.  Just for starter's 

Sangare,Shinnie,Pittman,Nouble,Holt, Guthrie ,Shaun Kelly,need binned straight away, their contracts need ripped up..

Martindale's tactics are defeatest,this needs to stop... Remember it was Martindale that brought these players in

The next window Livi need at least 7 or 8 new players

[Tony Wonder]

Don't think I've ever seen Livingston be that negative. Even at 1-0 with 5 to go they were refusing to commit.

From our point of view I thought we were good. We moved it at a good tempo, we never showed frustration and we made quite a few good chances. The goal was really well worked. 

That referee. Fucking hell. Abysmal doesn't come close.

[Kyle Reese]

Not one for the DVD collection. 

I think we did well against a team who were set up to be hard to break down. There were long parts of the game where we were facing a big yellow wall. The players remained patient though and you thought it had to come eventually. 

Can’t really blame Livi for playing a way that gets results. It is frustrating though.

I’ve been really critical of the choice to appoint Naismith, but Celtic aside he has us playing a bit better at last.

Onwards and upwards hopefully. 

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by Kyle Reese

[Menga Bus]

3 minutes ago, Kyle Reese said:

Can’t really blame Livi for playing a way that gets results. It is frustrating though.

We’ve not had a shot on target (excluding a penalty) in 4 and a half hours of football. It does not get results.

[Kyle Reese]

20 minutes ago, Menga Bus said:

We’ve not had a shot on target (excluding a penalty) in 4 and a half hours of football. It does not get results.

Ah well, you are not bottom of the table so it must be working for you some weeks?

I would not want to watch that sort of thing every week though, for sure.

 

(just noticed you are bottom now, sorry mate.)

 

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by Kyle Reese

[ATLIS]

4 minutes ago, Kyle Reese said:

Ah well, you are not bottom of the table so it must be working for you some weeks?

I would not want to watch that sort of thing every week though, for sure.

 

(just noticed you are bottom now, sorry mate.)

 

 

We aren't, are we?

[Cptn Hooch]

4 minutes ago, ATLIS said:

We aren't, are we?

11th

[Freedom Farter]

Welch-Hayes showed up well defensively, his block of Boyce's shot first half possibly stopped a goal. Nouble was better tonight with less of a tactical and defensive burden on him. Tonight was fine as a stabilising performance, better than getting walloped 3-0. However, I expect a tactical shift now. Injuries and suspensions to our centre back options mean the 3-4-2-1 can no longer be used. Instead trying to shift the emphasis onto our attacking players seems necessary now. The 4-2-3-1 seems an obvious choice to get more of them in the team.

[Kyle Reese]

14 minutes ago, ATLIS said:

We aren't, are we?

 

9 minutes ago, Cptn Hooch said:

11th

Think I need to go to bed! Apologies.

[Cptn Hooch]

2 minutes ago, Freedom Farter said:

Welch-Hayes showed up well defensively, his block of Boyce's shot first half possibly stopped a goal. Nouble was better tonight with less of a tactical and defensive burden on him. Tonight was fine as a stabilising performance, better than getting walloped 3-0. However, I expect a tactical shift now. Injuries and suspensions to our centre back options mean the 3-4-2-1 can no longer be used. Instead trying to shift the emphasis onto our attacking players seems necessary now. The 4-2-3-1 seems an obvious choice to get more of them in the team.

This is exactly how I read tonight...he's seen the need to shake it up and bring in some fresh faces. Defensively more solid tonight with what is effectively a 2nd string backline. Now we need to build on that. 

[crispy]

I get that we are far from sexy football at the moment but against Dundee both MacKay (lobbed too high) and Kelly (driven shot) missed the target when they really should have done better. The point being fine margins in games and the league is showing there is very little in it. I can’t imagine anyone below 4th place is raving about their team this season. 
 

i should add that a win every half a dozen games or so would be sufficient for me this year as I expect there to be 7/8 teams that, should they get their shit together, would be better than us.

Edited November 2, 2023 by crispy

[Freedom Farter]

23 minutes ago, Cptn Hooch said:

This is exactly how I read tonight...he's seen the need to shake it up and bring in some fresh faces. Defensively more solid tonight with what is effectively a 2nd string backline. Now we need to build on that. 

I think what's happened is that the last two matches before tonight, when we were still trying the 3-4-2-1 which was Plan A going into this season, things went so badly that Martindale has realised we can't do a back 3 unless Obileye is available.

So he's maybe looking to switch to a back 4 now. Probably a 4-2-3-1 with Nouble going to a wing and Anderson coming in at striker is the ideal. He might've felt that was too big a step in one go, though, especially away to a strong team. Going with the 4-3-2-1 tonight meant we could switch to the back 4 but clog our midfield up to still stay defensively solid. I don't think Welch-Hayes coming in was random either. It's possible Martindale is worried Brandon and Penrice both playing in a 4 is too attacking. Welch-Hayes is a defensive full back so maybe that could give better balance.