David Martindale hopes Livingston can take confidence from tasting victory for the first time in 14 games with their 2-1 Scottish Cup win over Raith Rovers.
The Lions are six points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership and have not won in the league since October.
But they are in the draw for the fifth round of the cup after Jamie Brandon cancelled out Jack Hamilton’s early opener for Raith and Dan MacKay’s header settled the tie in the 82nd minute.
Martindale was full of praise for his players.
He said: “I hope there is going to be a bump from it, momentum is huge in football.
“Results breed confidence. Hopefully the players can take some credit, I think we’ve played better and been beaten.
“If Raith had taken their chances early doors they might have been out of sight.
“I do think the players have to take huge credit.
“I thought we started the game unbelievably bad. We went a goal behind and were lucky not to be two behind. We got the penalty and missed that.
“At that point, it would have been really easy for the players to feel sorry for themselves, especially with the run we had been on.
“But, from that minute onwards, I think the players have to take huge credit. They found a way to win a game of football and they did that, nothing to do with Davie Martindale, the staff, tactics, formations.”
Livi won without the services of star attacker Joel Nouble, who Martindale revealed had been left out following a bid from a club in England.
He added: “I’ve had a wee bit of interest in Noubs from two teams in League One in England. There’s two teams in the Scottish Prem too.
“A club from down south put an offer in yesterday and it’s not a million miles away from where I think we need to be.
“I went back to them and explained that and said, ‘look if you tidy up that, tidy up that I reckon we can get this done’.
“I spoke to Joel, he was a bit disappointed that I was pulling him out of the squad but I felt it was unfair on him and potentially us.”
Meanwhile, Raith manager Ian Murray reckons his side should have won and hopes pushing top-flight opposition so hard will inspire them in their Championship title race with Dundee United.
Following a draw with Kilmarnock and defeat to Hibernian in the Viaplay Cup earlier in the campaign, he said: “I think days like this whet the appetite for where we want to be.
“Every time we’ve played Premiership sides this season it’s been really tight and once again we put so much into this one.
“We created a lot of chances and didn’t take them – some of the misses were unfortunate, some of them were poor.
“Against this higher level of opposition, though, you need to be more clinical.
“That’s the bottom line in cup competitions. We could have been ahead before we scored and then in the second-half I thought we were better than them.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. What should Man Utd do with these guys? Who do you think will win the Ballon d'Or this year? If Liverpool really does this season Not all football players keep their physical condition after retiring ENGLAND KNOCK SWEDEN OUT OF EURO 2025 ON PENALTIES Barcelona in 2009 won all 6 available trophies! Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be m...
Barcelona continue talks with United over Rashford loanDiscussions are ongoing between Barcelona and Manchester United as the Catalan giants pursue a deal for forward Marcus Rashford, according to Nicolo Schira. Barca are proposing a loan agreement that would include a conditional obligation to make the move permanent, aiming to work around their current financial constraints. The Red Devils, howe...
Jadon Sancho's transfer at Manchester United may go down as one of the most underwhelming ever.He arrived in 2021 for £73 million, making him Manchester United's fifth-most expensive signing ever, fresh off the back of a brace in the DFB-Pokal final, and was widely regarded as one of the best wingers in the world.But we have never seen the best of Sancho in England as struggles with disciplin...
Manchester United have reportedly submitted a third transfer bid for Bryan Mbeumo which meets Brentford's valuation. The move looked to be under threat when Newcastle United turned their attention to Mbeumo's Brentford team-mate, Yoane Wissa, on Thursday.The Bees are only willing to lose one of their formidable attacking duo this summer, so if Newcastle tied up a quick deal for Wissa, Mbeumo would...
Liverpool target Hugo Ekitike has reportedly submitted a transfer request at Eintracht Frankfurt in a bid to seal his move to Anfield.The Frenchman has become Liverpool's prime target this summer, with the Premier League champions seemingly moving on from Newcastle's star Alexander Isak, who could have set them back by more than £125million had the Magpies been willing to part with their Swed...
Modric explains AC Milan choice: This club cannot accept mediocrityLuka Modric has explained his decision to sign with AC Milan.The Real Madrid great spoke to Milan's media channels this morning for the first time since completing his transfer.Modric said: 0"I wanted to stay in Europe to continue playing competitive football. I had other offers, but when AC Milan called me, it was clear to me. I w...
Man Utd make late attempt to trump Roma for Palmeiras starManchester United are threatening AS Roma plans for Palmeiras midfielder Richard Rios.The Brazil international is subject of major interest from the Giallorossi - and is said to be keen on moving to Rome.TMW says last night, Roma chief Ricky Massara informed Palmeiras they plan to meet their €30m demands.Roma are ready to make an easi...
Napoli Set to Beat Man United to Potential €21m Andre Onana replacementNapoli are on the verge of signing Vanja Milinkovic-Savic for €21 million with the Torino 'keeper touted as a potential replacement for Andre Onana at Man United.Man United are understood to be weighing up whether they should sign a replacement for Onana, 29, following a string of high-profile mistakes between the s...
Former Man United Boss Erik ten Hag Addresses Potential Antony Reunion at Bayer LeverkusenFormer Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has broken his silence on the possibility of reuniting with Antony at Bayer Leverkusen.The 25-year-old is widely expected to leave Man United this summer despite an impressive second half of the season on loan with Real Betis.United are in desperate need of raisin...
Premier League Glory? Chelsea Backed for Title by Italian Legend Vieri, Who Praises Maresca’s ImpactChristian Vieri backs Chelsea to win the title next season, praising new boss Enzo Maresca for his impressive start at the club.Chelsea ended the 2024-25 season with two trophies and a place in next season’s Champions League despite a rocky patch over the festive period.Maresca’s s...
- 1 FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Fixture schedule, group standings, knockout round, tickets, format & everything you need to know
- 2 Brooklyn Beckham's ex inspires Palmer as Chelsea crush PSG
- 3 Spurs get huge lift in Morgan Gibbs-White row
- 4 Model skips Lamine Yamal's party over 'weird demands'
- 5 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 6 Rashford becomes new club's 'priority target'
- 7 Meet Christian Norgaard's gorgeous wife
- 8 Jude Bellingham finally undergoes surgery on recurrent dislocated shoulder injury as Real Madrid confirm successful procedure for England star ahead of long layoff
- 9 Noni Madueke parties at Wireless with Jadon Sancho
- 10 Chelsea's wage offer to Jadon Sancho revealed