Livi 3 Newcastle 2

Last updated : 28 July 2003 By Dov

Livingston defeated the Newcastle reserve side 3-2 at Almondvale yesterday, thanks to plenty of fighting spirit from the Lions after being 2-0 down. Newcastle were handed the lead after 12 minutes through an Oscar Rubio error, punished when Calvin Makongo slotted the ball past Livingston’s trialist Goalkeeper, Roddy McKenzie.

Livingston had started the better side, but it was Newcastle who nearly doubled the advantage, when David McNamee tried to header the ball back to McKenzie, the ball painfully went over the goalies head, but thankfully for McNamee, hit the side netting, and resulted in nothing more than a corner for the English side.

In 37 minutes the very talented Lomana Lua Lua made it two from a Steven Brennan cross. Poor defending saw Lua Lua rise above all the Livingston defenders, and he picked his spot from a very well taken header. The only dissapointment was that he never done his trademark somersault.

The Lions got a quick goal back when “Joe” Pasquinelli managed to squeeze the ball into the net after a goalmouth scramble. Livi trialist McGovern swung in the corner, Marvin Andrews bulleted in a header, only to see it finely saved, but the toe of Pasquinelli was there to pull a goal back for Livingston. It only took another minute for Livi to even the scoreline when another great corner from McGovern was headed back into the goalmouth, and Rubio hammered the ball past the stranded Newcastle goalkeeper.

Livingston changed the team about, and Barry Wilson, and David Xausa came on, and it was those two who combined to snatch a winner with 15 minutes to go. Wilson caught a Newcastle player in possession, ran towards goal, and squared to Xausa who had the easiest of tap ins to give Livingston the lead, and the deserved win.

Full-time


Livingston 3 : 2 Newcastle

Livingston: McKenzie (GK), McNamee, Rubio, Andrews, McAllister, Toure-Maman, O'Brien, Makel, McGovern, Pasquinelli, Lilley.
Subs: Wilson, Dorado, S.McLaughlin, Camacho, Xausa, Maidana, Findlay (GK).