A tough week for the first team. When the club should have been on a high after successive wins, the managers were struggling to pick a full selection by the weekend.
The virus that ripped through the changing room didn’t completely decimate the pool, but compromises were made and preparation wasn’t ideal.
The early signs weren’t good when a corner kick was swung in to Ross County’s penalty area. The ball bounced in the centre of the box, just in front of the six yard line, narrowly evading onrushing Livi defender Jon Guthrie.
Allowing the ball to land in your own area at a set-piece is asking for trouble, and trouble fell County’s way after half an hour.
Alan Lithgow’s long throw wasn’t adequately dealt with and it gave Guthrie time to pick out another Livingston defender at the six yard line to put the hosts in front. That gave the home team the platform to run away with the match.
Livingston were far more ruthless in the final third. Lyndon Dykes began 2019 by tormenting the Staggies in a 4-0 win for Queen of the South and here he scored the perfect hat-trick with right-foot, left-foot and headed finishes.
It was a tall order to ask for another clean sheet but the lack of understanding among a makeshift defence was cruelly exposed. With two more fixtures before the end of the week, this will need to be a blip to avoid ending 2019 on a sour note.