Livingston 1 - 3 Ross County: Staggies within touching distance of promotion

Few would bet against them securing it on Wednesday night when they meet Ayr United at Somerset Park.

A Colin McMenamin double and a late strike from Iain Vigurs did the business for Derek Adams’ side, who in clockwork fashion just keep on adding to their proud unbeaten run which now stands at 29 games. It was harder for them on this occasion than the scoreline suggests, a fact acknowledged by the County manager. “We knew it would be difficult here – they’re a good side” insisted Adams. “We had to fight to get back into the game after they equalised. We’ve had a lot of pressure on us to try to keep the unbeaten run going and we’ve coped with it well”.

With some decent results of their own of late, it was clear from the outset that Livingston had hardly come along simply to form a guard of honour for County’s potential crowning as Champions. They dug deep and generally did their best to harry the visitors out of their stride. All that was lacking from an otherwise commendable display from them was enough in the way of an attacking threat. In the opening 45 minutes Michael Fraser in the County goal barely had a touch of the ball with an off-target Craig Barr header from a set piece and an even more wayward Rory Boulding shot providing the only fleeting moments of anxiety for him and his defensive colleagues.

As can sometimes be the case when a team is on the verge of claiming silverware, County were not at their most fluent, particularly in the early stages of this match, but that impressive resilience which has carried them so far during this campaign was enough to see them go in at the interval with their noses in front. They patiently carved out the best chances of the first half, with McMenamin, in his usual opportunistic fashion, almost putting them ahead by capitalising on a defensive mix up and then finding the back of the net with a diving header after Michael Gardyne had prised his way into the Livingston box to send over a tempting cross.

Any suggestion that the remainder of the game would be something of a procession for Adams’ men was quickly disabused, however, as the hosts restored parity immediately after the restart with Boulding scooping the ball past Fraser from close range. This set the tone for a second half in which Livingston were to be the dominant side for much of the time with Keaghan Jacobs and Bobby Barr bringing out two excellent saves from Fraser.

Yet again, however, County managed to be both the immoveable object in surviving such scares and the irresistible force as they sped upfield to help themselves to a couple of goals to bring that Championship flag ever nearer. The ever-prolific McMenamin put them in front again with a looping header and then Vigurs blasted in a third for the Highlanders to seal the three points. The Dingwall side may have their detractors but Livingston manager John Hughes is not one: “They deserve to win it. They mix their game up well and I hope they do the First Division proud when they go up.”