Birthday boy Cristian Montano admits he had visions of netting a goal of the season contender right before tripping over the ball against Hibs.
But while the pacey Colombian confesses he got carried away as he was jinking beyond defender after defender, he says it is Livingston’s ability not to panic under pressure that will keep them heading in the right direction.
Montano, who turns 30 today, waltzed beyond three Hibs defenders on a mazy 60-yard run in Wednesday’s clash - only to get his foot caught under the ball at the crucial moment.
He jokes it was a pass to Alan Forrest, who charged onto the loose ball and saw his effort deflected over the bar, but hopes that is a sign of things to come for him in a Livingston jersey as he finally settles into life in West Lothian following a summer move from Port Vale.
He commented: “I think I’m getting back to myself again. The more I play the fitter I’m getting. That incident, I just beat one then the second and then the third.
“Once I had the last one to beat, I was already thinking where I was going to put the ball without beating the last man so I got too excited and I ended up stepping on the ball.
“Alan Forrest was right behind me and ended up getting it, so I’ll say I actually meant that.”
He added: “For me, with the run I went on, I came from quite deep and that’s what I did down south. I liked to carry the ball from deep but I’m a team player.
“Against Hearts I came on at right wing then changed to left. Against Hibs I did the same and then also helped out in defence because I can play left back and left wing-back so as long as I’m on the pitch helping the team and contributing in one way or another, I’m happy.
“That’s all I’m about - if I’m playing I’m a happy man.”
It’s been a challenging season at times for the Lions, with Wednesday night’s win breaking a six game stretch without a victory, but Montano says the level-headedness within the group can help guide them to a successful season.
He said: “The work-rate and quality has been there but we’ve not been putting the ball in the back of the net or the keepers have made very good saves.
“Against Hibs, Jack McMillan showed great composure and put it in the back of the net and everyone played really well. We deserved to score more but we’ll take the three points as that’s the most important thing.
“As long as you’re performing, you know things will turn. So it’s about trying to find a consistency within the team.
“We’ve got an amazing squad of players and great character. We’ve got great balance too because we don’t let ourselves get too down when we get beat and if we win we don’t get too excited.
“We know how football is. We can perform well and get nothing like the game against Hearts but we didn’t get too disheartened by it.
“We came in, analysed it, worked on what we could improve and that’s what we’ve been doing the whole season. Hopefully now we can start to pick up more points.
“The manager and the coaching staff always talks about not panicking and the whole character building around the squad is magnificent. The manager will let us know where we’ve got to improve but he’s also very good in being positive.
“You have to make sure you highlight the positives and don’t overthink the negatives, but learn from them and try to take that into the next game.”
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