The calm after the storm of last night's European game in Livingston.

Happy to be through
The aftermath of the dramatic end to Livingston's first European tie will carry on for a while - and I do not mean Manager Jim Leishman's expletive interview after the game! Vaduz players and officials were understandably upset that their 93rd minute 'goal' did not take them into today's (Friday) UEFA Cup draw. However in the end of match interviews they were clam and reasoned in their arguments. They understood that the referee had made his decision and nothing they could say would change the decision. That does not mean that the Liechtenstein did not think that referee Ivan Novak should not feel embarrassed by his decision. I am not sure that any Scottish club would take such a reasonable stance in a similar situation. Especially when you think of Livi boss Leishman sympathetic response to Vaduz' situation when he said it was just "tough s..t" for his UEFA Cup opponents.

The game had moved into the period of time added on (3 minutes) and the Croatian referee had already blown for full-time before midfielder Marius Zarn's shot rocketed into the goal. Vaduz believe that the whistle should not have been blown until action from their corner kick had ended. Zarn said: "I shot the ball and then I heard the referee finished the game. It was the same moment that I shot the ball. I have never seen this before. I hope the referee will be a little bit embarrassed because he knows he made a mistake". The Liechtenstein club are considering wither an appeal to UEFA would be appropriate. However, coach Walter Hormann admits that his side have no real chance of changing the outcome. The Vaduz backroom staff chased after the referee at the end of the game and the match officials had to be escorted from the field.

Hormann suggested that the referee may have favoured Livingston because they are a bigger club and were playing at home. However, the Vaduz coach holds no grudge against Livingston and wished them well in the next round. Hormann said: "I am a little bit angry at this moment. I am a very emotional coach and I ran to the referee after the game and I said bad, angry words to him. But he would not speak to me. He said nothing at all." His Scottish counterpart Leishman thought his side's European dream was over when the ball hit the net. He said: "It all happened so quickly. But, to be honest, I thought at first it was a goal and I said to myself 'we're out'. Then John Robertson explained to me what happened and I don't really care now. I'm just glad that we're through. The fourth official said that there were to be three minutes added on and, after more than two minutes, Vaduz won a corner. Apparently when Zarate cleared the ball, that's when the referee blew the whistle and then their guy had the shot".

Thanks to their 1-1 draw over in Liechtenstein, Livingston are in today's draw thanks to the away goal rule.


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