Livingston 5-0 Hearts: Ten-man Hearts humbled by five-star Livi

Five goals inside 14 second-half minutes consigned ten-man Hearts to their heaviest ever defeat against Livingston. The Edinburgh club had Arnaud Djoum sent off when they were 1-0 behind and suffered a disconcerting collapse thereafter.
Declan Gallagher of Livingston tussles with Hearts' Demetri Mitchell. Picture: SNS GroupDeclan Gallagher of Livingston tussles with Hearts' Demetri Mitchell. Picture: SNS Group
Declan Gallagher of Livingston tussles with Hearts' Demetri Mitchell. Picture: SNS Group

Craig Halkett opened the scoring from the penalty spot on 72 minutes after Hearts goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal fouled the Livingston captain. Djoum’s dismissal was for a second booking before Dolly Menga’s solo effort made it 2-0. Then came two clinical finishes by Ryan Hardie and a late goal by Shaun Byrne.

The result will be regarded as a surprise and left some travelling fans irate at full-time, but Livingston’s gameplan and ruthless finishing had earned them a memorable victory. The Hearts defence was dismantled with ease during that late 14-minute spell as goal after goal hit their net.

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A biting chill in West Lothian left the astroturf surface firm at the Tony Macaroni Arena. That ensured a quick-paced game of football with both midfields at the hub of the action. Callumn Morrison and Ben Garuccio replaced Sean Clare and Marcus Godinho in the Hearts starting line-up following last week’s win against Motherwell.

Livingston started the on-loan Rangers forward Hardie alongside Menga in a two-man attack. They intended to trouble the visiting defence from kick-off and struck a post inside six minutes. Hardie collected Scott Pittman’s through pass and dispatched a shot across the face of Zlamal, who was grateful to see the ball rebound off his left upright and out into his arms.

Moments later, the goalframe shook at the opposite end as Hearts took their turn to come tantalisingly close. After exchanging passes with Peter Haring, Demetri Mitchell angled an 18-yard strike beyond the Livingston keeper Liam Kelly but it struck the inside of the post and bounced along the six-yard area to safety.

Halkett sent a 22-yard free-kick inches wide on 22 minutes before Hearts made an enforced substitution. Congolese centre-back Clevid Dikamona pulled up with a suspected thigh injury whilst in pursuit of Menga and was replaced by Aaron Hughes. Halkett went even closer seconds later from Alan Lithgow’s long throw, but Zlamal reacted brilliantly to claw the ball out at the back post.

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Livingston had Hearts pressed back and threatened again when Zlamal punched Keaghan Jacobs’ corner only as far as Hardie. His first attempt at goal was blocked and his second cleared off the line by Michael Smith. Another, clearer opportunity arose when Hardie crossed low for Pittman to shoot first time. Zlamal instinctively stuck out a leg to prevent a certain goal.

Gary Holt’s energetic side had enjoyed the better of the first-half chances and they were also edging the midfield battle. That left much for the Hearts manager Craig Levein to ponder during the interval. He switched from a back four to a three for the second half and introduced Clare for Morrison.

The Englishman found himself in position a scoring opportunity just moments after the restart following Steven MacLean’s flick. He sprinted through from his attacking midfield berth behind the veteran striker, however Kelly sprinted from his area and was equal to the task with an important block.

Until that point, Hearts had asserted themselves much better in the second period than they had in the first, but Livingston remained capable of a quick counter-attack. Substitute Scott Robinson threaded a fine ball through to Hardie seconds after entering the field, and the striker’s attempt flew across goal with defenders trailing in his wake.

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The game then exploded into life, laced with no little controversy. First, Zlamal came for high ball and wiped out Halkett. He was show a yellow and a red card by referee Nick Walsh but stayed on the field as the red was a mistake. Halkett then calmly converted the penalty to put Livingston ahead.

Walsh did then brandish an intended red card at Djoum – who had already been booked – when he challenged Menga inside the Hearts half. The Cameroonian trudged off and, down to ten men, the visitors capitulated.

Menga waltzed past three opponents inside the penalty box to stroke home Livingston’s second on 76 minutes. Two minutes later, Hardie got in behind the home defence and clipped his finish into the net. He barely waited another two minutes to make it 4-0. From Steven Lawless’ long ball, the striker fastened on to the bouncing ball to prod it low beyond Zlamal.

By the time Byrne got in on the act with a fifth goal in the 86th minute, Hearts looked punch-drunk and the game was well and truly over. Just to compound their misery, MacLean saw a late effort rebound off the crossbar.

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Livingston (3-4-1-2): Kelly; Gallagher, Halkett, Lithgow; Lawless, Jacobs, Byrne, Cadden (Robinson 68); Pittman; Menga (Saunders 82), Hardie. Unused subs: Stewart, McMillan, Sibbald, Hamilton, Lawson.

Hearts (4-3-3): Zlamal; M Smith, Dikamona (Hughes 24), Berra, Garuccio (Lee 76); Djoum, Haring, Bozanic; Morrison (Clare 46), MacLean, Mitchell. Unused subs: Doyle, Wighton, Mulraney, Hickey.

Referee: Nick Walsh.

Attendance: 4,201.

Goals

Livingston – Halkett (72), Menga (76) Hardie (78, 80), Byrne (86).

Hearts – .

Bookings

Livingston – Menga (64).

Hearts – Djoum (51), Zlamal (72)

Sendings-off

Livingston -

Hearts - Djoum (74)