Motherwell travel Livingston on Saturday with the elusive prize of three points for the victor.
A win for either team would be their second of the season and give a much needed boost. On paper this looks like a game between two struggling outfits. Motherwell have earned much praise but few points while their newly promoted opponents lead the goals against column.
Top six secured in 2022
Since their loss to Hibs in the League Cup, Livingston have been on a seven game winless run with only two draws to break the gloom. They currently sit at the bottom of the table yet they are only two points behind Motherwell.
David Martindale makes no secret of his objective to retain top level status and to that end he aims to make his side hard to beat. However, the results so far offer little confidence.
Scott Pittman has three league goals to his credit and Lewis Smith has chipped in with a couple.
Jens Berthel Askou has to find a way to stop his players failing to make the best of leading the game. In five of the last eight they have frittered the advantage and failed to seal the win. This costly flaw has exposed the twin weakness in the early season fixtures; a poor return when dominating and an inability to see the game out.
Following the recent international break the manager now has an almost full squad at his disposal. Callum Hendry led the line against Falkirk last weekend until Apostolos Stamatelopoulos replaced him late on, maybe a swap this week?
Eli Just and Elliot Watt controlled much of that game. The pair relish the manager’s preferred style. Ibrahim Said looked to be a yard sharper and his scoring run from midfield was cruelly cancelled.
‘Well fans will make the short trip along the M8 knowing that their team is perfectly capable of winning the game. It’s time for good football to get its reward – 2-0 to the Steelmen.
