SO much for the new manager bounce.
Neil McCann may have departed Dundee but any inspiration from Jim McIntyre’s arrival was quickly flattened in a display that bore all the hallmarks that resulted in his predecessor’s sacking.
Chief concern for McIntyre is the Dundee defence, which conceded four set-piece goals as flocculent as the gloves and hats fans are digging out from their winter wardrobes.
“In a nutshell, we didn’t defend set-plays,” said McIntyre. “We highlighted Livingston’s strengths and showed what a big threat they are from set plays and the need not to give away silly free-kicks. Equally, you’ve got to stand up and be counted when it comes to man-to-man defending and we’ve not done that and been punished four times which is embarrassing. It’s not good enough.”
The adjective ‘high-flying’ appears to permanently adorn fourth-placed Livingston’s name these days and their goals very much reflected that – you could say the only time they let the ball bounce is into the back of the opposition net.
The two first-half goals went as such: Keaghan Jacobs floated a free-kick into the penalty area from near the halfway line, Dundee dithered and Declan Gallagher, for the first, and then Craig Halkett for the second, headed in.
For variation, Steven Lawless added a third direct from a free-kick in the second half and Alan Lithgow nodded in a header from a corner.
Livingston’s style may be simple, but it sure is effective.
The minor differences from the 18th minute opener and the 43rd minute second goal were that Jacobs pinged the first dead-ball to the back post for Gallagher to loop home, then Halkett glanced into the net from a central run that dissected a statuesque-Dundee defence.
At that stage, Halkett’s effort made it 10 league goals from Livingston this season from 10 different players.
Ironically, in the 12th minute Kenny Miller nearly put Dundee ahead against the club he began the season with as player/manager, accepting his namesake Calvin’s pass on a counter-attack and curling narrowly wide.
Bar that break, it was noticeable how much the promoted hosts were stronger than the basement-dwelling visitors. A further example of Livingston’s threat was provided when Jacobs thudded just past the post as the half-hour approached when Lithgow’s long throw was only headed clear to the edge of the box.
Dundee could have equalised five minutes before the interval; Calvin Miller’s low out-swinging corner flicked towards goal by Ryan Innis but Liam Kelly saved instinctively.
McIntyre’s men enjoyed a spell of possession in the second half but for every ball Dundee lofted into the box, Livingston, in particular Lithgow and Halkett, stood strong.
In the 74th minute, Lawless curled over a free-kick from the right with his left foot which Lithgow went to head in and missed, but the ball nestled in the far corner of the net anyway.
Just for some further variation, Livingston’s fourth in the 89th minute came from substitute Steven Lawson’s in-swinging right-footed corner bundled home at the back-post from the forehead of Lithgow.
“If you look at the stats a lot of goals are scored from set plays and it’s the one aspect of the game that you can work on religiously to get right and fortunately today we got it right,” said Livingston manager Gary Holt.
He added: “I’ve got guys here who are prepared to put their bodies on the line - in both boxes - which is pleasing.”
‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’, sung the Livingston supporters goadingly towards McIntyre when the fourth was scored.
A further issue for McIntyre is bringing in an assistant manager, with the prospect of Billy Dodds as No.2 drawing the ire of the Dundee fans.
“I can’t put a timescale on it,” said McIntyre. “There are a couple of candidates. It has been well documented that I would like to bring Billy in but that is proving difficult. It is a sensitive subject.”
McIntyre certainly needs to bring in some bounce from somewhere.
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