Livingston 1 - 3 St Mirren: 10 man Buddies record excellent win

Ten-man St Mirren overcame the first half dismissal of Gary Irvine to inflict Livingston's first defeat in 18 matches with a hard-fought 3-1 victory.

St Mirren's Adam Eckersley (right) and Livingston's Danny Mullen. Picture: SNS/Garry Williamson

Lions defender Craig Halkett stamped his mark on the game early on, scoring at both ends. The former Rangers trainee deflected a Stephen McGinn cross past team-mate Neil Alexander after ten minutes before heading in Josh Mullin’s corner six minutes later.

The visitors went down to ten men after 34 minutes when Irvine was shown a straight red by referee Craig Thomson for a reckless challenge on Dale Carrick.

The Buddies, however, rallied to avenge last month’s Betfred Cup defeat. Gavin Reilly scored a double, knocking in from close range after 52 minutes before finding the net from a tight angle on the hour mark.

“To win a game of football with ten men is difficult at any level but to do it for so long was terrific,” said Buddies manager Jack Ross, who was also sent to the stand in the second half after a row with the referee.

“I think we deserved the win just for the amount of courage we showed in that performance and the threat we carried.”