Duffy: No excuses for Livingston loss

Disappointed manager Jim Duffy says there were no excuses for Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Livingston as he gives his thoughts on the Ladbrokes Championship fixture to media and communications officer Jonathan Mitchell.

When asked for his thoughts on the result and performance, he said:

“I’m extremely disappointed, of course, to lose the game. It was always going to be a tough game, and fair credit to Livingston, they are discplined, organised and work hard.

“But that’s not something we weren’t aware of. We were better than last time in terms of matching that style of play, the aggression and tempo.

“But when we had the ball we were poor, there’s no disguising that. I know players will always make excuses and say: ‘The pitch was a bit sticky.’ But we have absolutely no excuses.

“Although Derek Gaston didn’t have too many saves to make, Livingston probably shaded the opportunities.”

The Ton boss picked out his team’s rushed attacking play as a specific source of frustration, adding:

“I was particularly disappointed with the final third today, not just the strikers but midfield players and full-backs.

“When we got in there, we hardly had any link-up play or even tried it. We just kept throwing the ball into the box, into three big centre-backs and it was easy for them.

“It wasn’t just about throwing balls in, the quality was poor. We didn’t get the ball into feet and move big centre-backs. We hardly played any passes and rushed the play.

“There were still 25 minutes or so left when we conceded and we still kept knocking too many long balls. There was a lack of understanding about how we wanted to play.”

Former defender Duffy added that the way in which his side conceded what turned out to be the winning goal meant they had committed a ‘cardinal sin’:

“The goal was a really, really poor goal from our perspective. It was just a long ball up the pitch and we had two players to deal with it.

“We don’t deal with it. We made a cardinal sin with a long ball over the top, and that’s a lapse of concentration.

“And in a match when you’re not playing at your best, that has to be spot on. If your concentration is good, you take the 0-0 and move on.”

Image: Gary Bradley