Livingston left bewildered after defeat by Duns
Final score doesn’t reflect balance of play
Livingston gave a great account of themselves but ultimately suffered an agonising loss at home to Duns.
The defeat saw the Almond Park side fall to seventh place in the East League Division One table ahead of their big local derby clash with Linlithgow Reds.
Livi went into the clash on the back of a spirited display in defeat against North Berwick the previous week and it would be fair to say this clash fitted into that category once again for the side.
The hosts mounted the first real attack of the match when Max Henderson drove into the Duns-22 before Livi were awarded a penalty from which Marius Tamosaitis was able to bundle his way over for the game’s opening try.
Kerr Anderson’s conversion ensured an early 7- 0 lead for the home side.
That seemed to wake up the visitors who upped their game but some stout Livi defending prevented them from immediately replying.
At the other end, a spilled ball when a try seemed certain would cost the hosts, who led by just two points at the interval after Duns got on the board with a quickly taken penalty that caught the Livi defence cold.
The first stages of the second half were similar to the opening of the game as Livi camped themselves deep in the Duns half, but they were hit on the break as a quick clearance led to Duns’ right-winger collecting the ball in the open space and sprinting to score under the posts.
Against the run of play, the visitors would add to their lead as the ball squirted out of a Livi scrum and fell nicely for the visiting scrum- half who duly scooped up the ball and touched down in between the posts. The conversion made it 19-7 to Duns, which wasn’t a true reflection of the contest.
With time running out in their bid to get back into the clash, Livi replacement Gary Wilson gathered the ball and charged at the Duns defence, winning his side a penalty.
He promptly took a quick tap himself and stormed over between the posts, leaving Anderson with a simple conversion and making it a one-score game at 19-14.
Unfortunately, the hosts had given themselves too much to do as they suffered their fourth league defeat of the season.
The result left the healthy home support bewildered as Livingston had by far the majority of the play and territory but were unable to make it count while their plucky visitors simply made the most of the few chances that came their way to grab their sixth win and sit pretty in third place in the table.