Livingston 2-1 St Mirren: Hosts extend unbeaten run with win

Livingston shrugged aside the absence of manager Gary Holt to beat St Mirren 2-1 and extend their undefeated record to nine games this season.

With Holt in hospital after being injured while lifting weights, goals from Alan Lithgow and Lyndon Dykes proved enough to cancel out a wonderful effort from Kyle Magennis.

Despite a late rally in the second half, Jim Goodwin's side struggled to create enough chances to trouble their hosts and have now lost three of their first four Scottish Premiership games.

The win confirms Livingston hold on to third place in the Premiership, while their Paisley opponents drop to 10th.

After taking three points from game against Hibernian, Aberdeen and Rangers, Jim Goodwin would have viewed this game as a chance for St Mirren to earn a first league win.

But even without their manager, a Livingston team that beat Ross County 4-1 the previous week and were yet to taste defeat this term, were to prove just as tough opponents.

After a tepid opening 25 minutes, the home side came to life when Aymen Souda's corner found a completely unmarked Lithgow, who headed in from the edge of the six-yard box.

French midfielder Souda came close to adding a goal of his own 15 minutes later, when he received a pass just in front of the St Mirren box and jinked past a helpless Sean McLoughlin before firing a shot inches wide of a post.

St Mirren adopted a more offensive approach in the second half and that almost provided immediate results when a Jonathan Obika header and Tony Andreu shot went close 10 minutes after the break.

But that attacking intent led to spaces in defence and it was Livingston who scored the second goal of the afternoon with a close-range finish from Dykes after a smart cut back from Chris Erskine.

With little left to lose, St Mirren threw caution to the wind. And amid a performance marked by clumsy crosses and mishit shots, the goal came through a sublime moment from Kyle Magennis, who cut in from the left and curled an effort high into the net.

The visitors had their goal and almost half an hour to find a second. A close-range diving header from Obika flew over the crossbar and a powerful shot from Paul McGinn stung the gloves of Ross Stewart four minutes later, but Goodwin's side struggled to transition from a structured, defensive unit in to a free-scoring threat.

Indeed it was Livingston who came closest to finding another goal when the ball bounced awkwardly to substitute Jack Stobbs after a stramash, only for the winger to then direct a volley via his knee off Vaclav Hladky's crossbar.

BBC Scotland's Kheredine Idessane at the Tony Macaroni Arena

A proper captain's performance from Lithgow made him man of the match for several reasons. His bullet header was tangible reward for his afternoon's work but Lithgow was resolute with his day job, too, defending and marshalling the backline to make sure that the points stayed in West Lothian.

St Mirren threw everything at their hosts in the second half, but Lithgow managed that superbly well, with Livingston only breached by a fine strike by Kyle Magennis which neither Lithgow or his team-mates could do much about.

Livingston assistant manager Davie Martindale: "It was tough. St Mirren aren't easy and they're a different team to what they were last year. But we got a foothold in the game with the two goals.

"The boys were brave in possession and they put their bodies on the line. I thought they were fantastic. It's what we are all about at Livingston."

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "The first Livingston goal is a really disappointing one. We know that Livingston work hard in their set plays and long throws. We spoke about the importance of everyone doing their jobs and unfortunately we switched off.

"We knew we would have more of the ball but I felt as though in the first half it was all just a bit pedestrian. We just never found a way to break them down, unfortunately."