Livingston’s Lyndon Dykes has said it fills him with pride that he can compete with the likes of Celtic centre-half Christopher Jullien.
The striker was in terrific form midweek as Livi drew 2-2 with Celtic at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Callum McGregor had put Celtic in front before Jon Guthrie equalised and Dykes sent Jullien down the river with some great movement, setting up Scott Robinson for a tap-in.
A battle against Celtic. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
It was a heroic effort from Gary Holt’s men but it wasn’t enough to earn three points as Tom Rogic scored a leveller in injury time. Dykes reckons Jullien was perhaps a bit ‘timid’ up against him but insists that competing with a defender who cost Celtic £7 million shows he’s doing something right.
“I just go out like it’s another person and do my best to try and help the team,” said Dykes. “I think that’s twice now I’ve ruffled him about a bit and he hasn’t liked it, so that’s pleasing.
“He’s a great player and he shows it week in, week out. Maybe he was a bit timid and a few times I got in behind him and he was a bit nervous – but I’m not sure. It’s a big compliment to me because he’s a £7 million defender.
A battle with the Hoops defender. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
“I just went out to do my best and show him he wasn’t going to get an easy time of it. Hopefully I did that”
Dykes has also dismissed notions that Livingston are just a physical team. It’s a brush his team have wrongly been tarred with by some but the forward says there’s a lot more to them than that, commenting on their brilliant home run after going nine unbeaten in West Lothian.
“We have a great home record, if we had just won a few more games away then who knows where we would be,” said Dykes. “We deserve praise, we work hard and make it difficult for teams coming here.
Home positives for Lyndon Dykes. (Photo by Ewan Bootman/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“It’s the first thing that people speak about when they talk about us, ‘oh it’s physical this, physical that’. But we do what we do in the opposition half and we do play nice football.
“We were defending a lot because Celtic are a good team, but I don’t think we should only be known as just a physical team.”