Livingston manager David Martindale bemoaned a slow start after a 1-1 draw with Hamilton left them facing a League Cup struggle.
Andrew Winter gave Accies the lead on the half-hour mark at the Tony Macaroni Arena and, although Bruce Anderson levelled in the last minute, Hamilton remain in pole position in the group thanks to a 4-1 shootout win for the bonus point.
Martindale said in a club video: “The first half we lacked application and intensity. It took us until their goal to get going. We let the boy inside. which creates a massive problem.
“I don’t think our shape was great in the first half, boys were dropping into areas they shouldn’t, boys weren’t brave enough off the ball and we failed to get enough pressure on the ball as high as I wanted.
“After the goal our application and intensity kicked up a gear and we dominated large spells of the second half. We hit the bar and post and got in behind on two or three occasions but our final ball has to be better.
“We should have had two stonewall penalties for handball but I don’t want to take anything away from Hamilton because I thought they defended really well.
“But from our point of view, we can’t expect to start games in the manner that we did. We didn’t find solutions early enough in the game.”
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