MX23RW : Thursday, November 28 07:20:52| >> :600:1248811:1248811:
[monks data]
Attendance: 1,615
Livingston logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 29
Mar 9, 2019 at 3pm UK
 
St Johnstone logo

3-1

Halkett (38'), Sibbald (46'), Pittman (92')
FT(HT: 1-1)

Livingston boss Holt delighted with birthday win

Livingston boss Holt delighted with birthday win
© Reuters
The Lions are now 19 points clear of relegation danger.

Livingston manager Gary Holt was delighted his side gave him the 46th birthday he had asked for after the Lions came from behind to beat St Johnstone.

Craig Halkett, Craig Sibbald and Scott Pittman were on the score sheet after Saints captain Joe Shaughnessy had opened the scoring in the 14th minute.

The victory moved the West Lothian outfit 19 points clear of the Ladbrokes Premiership relegation zone and to within five of the top six.

Former Scotland midfielder Holt was thrilled with his team's response to going behind.

He said: "It's a nice present and I asked them for it before the game. I asked them for three points.

"We pride ourselves on clean sheets and not giving goals away, but I said I'd rather take three points today.

"It's always more satisfying when you have to come from behind to do it. It shows character, resilience and everything we're about."

Asked if his side could consider themselves safe with nine games left, Holt said: "There are still 27 points to play for.

"We don't want to focus on being safe already and the season peters out because a malaise sets in."

St Johnstone threatened to spoil Holt's birthday after Shaughnessy fired in Sean Goss' corner after 14 minutes.

But Lions captain Halkett levelled seven minutes before the break with a close-range header before Sibbald nodded in Scott Robinson's cross 42 seconds after the restart.

Saints substitute Tony Watt missed a gilt-edged chance to level in the 89th minute before Scott Pittman added a third in added time.

Saints manager Tommy Wright, whose side have not won in nine matches and are four points adrift of the top six, said: "Tony's chance is a big one.

"He's obviously gutted and he's apologised.

"You don't miss them deliberately, but it's the best chance of the game.

"It's a bad run. We've been here before and it's not nice, but we've caused it ourselves. We've got to learn to defend better.

"I've asked the players where do they want to play their last five games.

"For parts of the game they showed me they want to be a top-six side.

"But that bad spell has killed us and then we didn't show enough urgency. We didn't create enough opportunities."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'f839e2b7-b002-4adc-859b-52c8ae161ee7');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Livingston boss Holt delighted with birthday win'});

ID:352870: cacheID:352870:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4853:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright pictured in January 2016
Read Next:
Tommy Wright shocked as goalkeeper Mark Hurst leaves St Johnstone for the US
>
Read more about Gary Holt Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1FalkirkFalkirk1511222891935
2Livingston148511910929
3Ayr UnitedAyr158432314928
4Partick ThistlePartick14653179823
5Queen's ParkQueen's Park156451616022
6Raith Rovers144371318-515
7Hamilton AcademicalHamilton144371925-615
8Greenock MortonMorton143561119-814
9Dunfermline AthleticDunfermline153391116-512
10AirdrieoniansAirdrieonians141211627-215


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!