Last updated : 18 December 2017 By ed_ScottishFitba
Falkirk head to Livingston on Tuesday evening to play their first Championship game in over three weeks after a series of postponements due to the weather. Livingston are in the same boat as far as missing out on game time, having enjoyed a terrific start to the season under David Hopkin. Despite not having played in three weeks, Livingston remain in fourth place in the Championship, two points ahead of Dunfermline. They have lost just three games out of 14 and can point to wins over Dundee United, Inverness CT and most recently, Queen of the South as highhights.
Paul Hartley cast an eye over things at Livingston’s last game on Tuesday 28 November when they took on St Mirren in Paisley. The game eventually finished 3-1 to the Buddies, but after a strong first half showing it was the Lions who had the lead at half time with Dale Carrick following up Josh Mullin’s parried effort. Livingston hold the upper hand in the head to head record against Falkirk this season with two wins in the Scottish Championship and Betfred Cup. The Bairns fully expect a tough test tomorrow. and will continue to be without the long-term absentee of David Mitchell, with Kevin O’Hara and Joe McKee both suspended. Midfielders Tom Taiwo and Craig Sibbald will be looking for their first taste of football action having returned from injury in recent weeks.
Manager Hartley said: "This will be a tough away game against a team who were going pretty well before suffering from postponements like ourselves. We need to try and pick a team that will go and compete and try to win the game. Despite not having matches the boys have continued to look good in training and I think we are all just looking to get back to playing now. We know the situation we are faced with, but the only way we’ll get through it is to work hard and believe in ourselves. We know Tuesday’s match will be a tough one – the previous fixtures against Livingston show that. We’re under no illusions, they play a certain way, they’re effective and we have got to stand up to them. We’re going to go there with a game plan to try and win the match. We’ve been working hard in training on executing that game plan and I have full belief in the group to go out and do it. Having watched Livingston you can see how they hurt teams, they deserve full credit for their start to the season. We can only look after ourselves, we have prepared well for the match and now it is all about trying to secure a very important three points."
