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Mark Gillespie, Danny Johnson and Christian Mbulu spoke after the 2-0 defeat at Livingston.

Stephen Robinson was left to lament his team’s inconsistency as Motherwell lost at Livingston.

Having defeated Aberdeen last weekend, the same team bar one player failed to live up to their previous performance in defeat.

Motherwell toiled in West Lothian as Livingston picked up a deserved win in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

A goal from former ‘Well man Steven Lawless midway through the first half – and a late second from Craig Halkett – was enough to earn the hosts the three points.

Disappointingly, after a five star showing from so many players the previous week, nobody in claret could lift their game to match Livingston’s direct approach.

With five regulars sidelined through injury and suspension, Stephen Robinson had to reshape his defence bringing in Barry Maguire to face an aerial onslaught from the home side.

It didn’t take long for Livingston to put Mark Gillespie’s goal under pressure with a succession of long throws and corners, but Trevor Carson’s deputy looked up for the challenge.

And the ‘keeper had to be alert after 13 minutes when Alan Lithgow’s long throw found its way to Lawless and his shot from eight yards was net bound until Gillespie got down to brilliantly block.

In almost a repeat of their earlier chance, Livi produced the opening goal after 22 minutes. Lithgow hurled the ball in from the other touchline and when the ball again arrived at Lawless, he drilled his shot beyond Gillespie.

At this stage ‘Well looked out of sorts, unable to win the second ball at either end or keep possession. For a spell leading up to half time, they managed to control the ball a bit better on the artificial surface.

The Fir Park men finally managed an effort on goal when David Turnbull found Danny Johnson at the edge of the box. But after dragging the ball onto favoured his left foot, his shot was partially blocked by Craig Halkett leaving Liam Kelly with an easy catch.

After a poor first half, the travelling ‘Well fans were looking for a big improvement in the second half, with Alex Gorrín replacing Gaël Bigirimana in the middle of the park.

That did little to alter the pattern of the game with Livi’s direct style giving them the upper hand. Just before the hour mark, Robinson made his second change Elliort Frear coming on for Alan Campbell, shortly followed by Ryan Bowman for Curtis Main.

The Steelmen were in need of a spark to bring them into the game and it almost arrived 12 minutes from time.

Gorrīn lofted picked out Maguire coming in on the blind side of the home defence and his volley from six yards seemed destined for an equaliser, until Kelly produced a remarkable stop to keep the ball out of his net.

From Gorrin’s corner, Tom Aldred’s header forced Kelly into another save, catching the ball under his crossbar.

Any thoughts of a sustained revival from ‘Well were killed off eight minutes from time, when Halkett rose unchallenged to meet Scott Robinson’s corner and steer the ball inside the post and secure the points for the home side.

Bowman was denied a late consolation when his shot was again blocked by Kelly but otherwise it was a 90 minutes to forget from a ‘Well perspective.

Liam Grimshaw is hoping the Steelmen can ride the wave of confidence in to Saturday’s trip to Livingston.

The midfielder believes the the Fir Park side are in a string vein of form, and that could play in part this weekend.

“Three wins from four is a really good return,” he said. “So I think we have every right to go in to Saturday’s game with confidence.”

David Turnbull is the fans’ choice for the Tullibardine player of the month for November.

The youngster, who netted against Dundee and Aberdeen, won the award for the second month in succession.

With 76% of the vote, Turnbull beat Liam Grimshaw, Curtis Main and Danny Johnson in our poll.

Well Society member Ann McKeown was on hand on Friday to present him with his award.

Stephen Robinson says Motherwell head to Livingston on Saturday to face a difficult opponent.

The Steelmen won at the Tony Macaroni Arena on cup duty early in the season, but are one of only two teams to win in West Lothian this season.

We make the short trip to West Lothian on Saturday to take on Livingston in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.

The form guide

Motherwell have won three of their last four matches, defeating Aberdeen 3-0 in their last outing.

Livingston had differing fortunes in the three games they played in the league in November, compared to their run of form previous.

The Lions picked up one point from a possible nine, with that draw coming in a solid home showing against Celtic. Defeats came on the road at Hamilton and Rangers.

Head to head, Motherwell won the opening game between the pair in the Betfred Cup at Livingston 1-0. A 1-1 league draw at Fir Park followed.

Get your tickets in advance

Tickets are available online now or you can buy from the Fir Park ticket office until 4pm on Friday.

Please note there will be no cash turnstiles in operation on the day. Fans without tickets can purchase them from the Almondvale Suite at the south end of Livingston’s stadium.

Prices are as follows:

Fans who require ambulant or wheelchair access should contact Andy Sim on 07428 225254 or email tickets@mfcdsa.com.

Team news

Motherwell will be without Chris Cadden, Trevor Carson and Craig Tanner through injury. Peter Hartley and Carl McHugh are suspended.

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair is back in light training, while late decisions will be made on Charles Dunne and Liam Donnelly.

Scott Robinson, Ryan Hardie, Dolly Menga, Rafaelle de Vita, Lee Miller and Alan Lithgow will all be missing for the hosts.

Livingston had a barnstorming start to the season, but welcome Motherwell on Saturday having taken a small dip in form.

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s opponents.

Form guide

Livingston had differing fortunes in the three games they played in the league in November, compared to their run of form previous.

The Lions picked up one point from a possible nine, with that draw coming in a solid home showing against Celtic. Defeats came on the road at Hamilton and Rangers.

Defensive solidity

A huge part of Livingston’s run this campaign has been their ability to keep clean sheets, especially in the league.

Goalkeeper Liam Kelly and his defence have kept seven shutouts in their 13 Premiership games to date, and have only conceded more than once in a match twice – both away at Celtic and Rangers.

The man at the helm

Kenny Miller was in charge when Motherwell last visited West Lothian earlier in the season, but Gary Holt is the man in the dugout welcoming the visitors on Saturday.

Since replacing Miller, he embarked on a seven-game unbeaten run with five wins and two draws. The last four games have seen his side go without a win, drawing one and losing three.

After picking up two wins from three in November, it’s time to pick your Tullibardine Motherwell player of the month.

To vote, just head to our Facebook page and choose who you think should scoop the award this month.

In contention is last month’s winner David Turnbull, who scored in wins at home to Dundee and Aberdeen.

Liam Grimshaw has been at the heart of the action after establishing himself back in the team, impressing in particular at right wing back in the win against the Dons.

Curtis Main was also a key figure in that victory, and also netted at Ibrox.

Also in contention is Danny Johnson, who was pivotal in the victory over Aberdeen, netting two excellent goals to cement his place as the team’s top scorer so far this season.

Motherwell return to West Lothian for the second time in the 2018/19 campaign on Saturday, as they travel to face Livingston.

Here’s the game previewed in numbers.

Three

From their last five games since they last faced Livingston, Motherwell have picked up three wins.

Defeats against Rangers and St Johnstone have been balanced out with big wins over Aberdeen, Dundee and St Mirren.

Six goals have been scored by the Steelmen in those wins, with three clean sheets kept.

Four

Having started the season on fire, Livingston have managed to pick up four points from their last five matches.

A win over Dundee and a draw with Celtic have come along with defeats from Hamilton, Rangers and St Johnstone.

That’s in sharp contrast to the five games previous. Home wins over Hamilton, Hibernian and Rangers came in that undefeated run, as well as away draws at Hearts and Motherwell.

86

The number of goals the combined fans of both teams have seen in the 2018/19 campaign so far.

Livingston supporters have seen 29, with their team scoring 17 and conceding 12.

Motherwell fans, in contrast, have seen the ball hit the net 57 times already this season. Twenty-nine goals have been in our favour, with 28 scored against.