Livi heartened by Light display
Lions can do nothing about Borini wonder strikes
Callum Carson Livingston gaffer David Hopkin called his team’s visit to Sunderland “a great learning experience” after they faced the English Premier League giants in a friendly on Friday afternoon.
Two wonderful strikes from Italian frontman Fabio Borini and a penalty from Seb Larsson gave the hosts victory at the Stadium of Light.
But the Lions boss admitted he was more concerned about what his players could take from the game rather than the final score.
He said: “It was a great learning experience against a big club. Sunderland pretty much played their strongest side minus Jermaine Defoe, and we played well.
“We played the game at a high tempo and it took two sensational strikes and a penalty to beat us.
“We created a few chances, played pretty well and most of the guys got a decent amount of playing time, so it was definitely a good workout for everyone.”
He added: “It kept their fitness up and it was about keeping the players focused and fit for this weekend’s game.”
Borini broke the deadlock at the Stadium of Light after 28 minutes before firing home a wonder-strike from the edge of the box just before the half time whistle.
Former Arsenal midfielder Larsson rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot after the break.
Dame N’Doye could have given his side the lead early on but the ball got caught up in his feet inside the penalty box before Borini broke the deadlock.
He doubled his tally with a stunning goal minutes before the break when Larsson picked out the striker on the edge of the box.
He then flicked the ball up before rifling a volley over Marc McCallum in the Livi goal.
The final goal came on 55 minutes when Jeremain Lens was brought down in the box, with Larsson calmly slotting the ball home from 12 yards. But, while Borini took all the plaudits for his terrific strike, Livi left-back Jackson Longridge almost went one better when he nearly lobbed the Sunderland keeper from the halfway line.
Hopkin added: “You’ve got to realise who you’re playing. Sunderland are a top side and we were up against international players worth £10 million and more.
“So it obviously wasn’t really about going down there and getting a result, it was more about working hard and our fitness levels.
“The three-nil score actually really makes it look worse than it was, to be perfectly honest. We conceded two goals that probably nobody in Scotland could score against us and gave as good as we got against an English Premier League team, so we’re certainly all happy with how it went.”
He added: “It was also really good to have a bonding session and we had a good trip. It was great for the new boys to have that trip away with the team.
“The guys really enjoyed it and they really came back into training on the Monday invigorated and that’s really showed and hopefully we can take that into the game this weekend.”
SPFL Championship