Date	Saturday, 18 March 2023
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Livingston 2:1 Ross County
Venue	Tony Macaroni Stadium,
Attendance	1,283
Referee	William Collum
Comments	Match Report Report by Sean McGill for the BBC. Livingston 2 Ross County 1 Manager David Martindale admitted he would be "amazed" if Joel Nouble and Nicky Devlin stayed at Livingston beyond this season after the duo scored the goals that earned a Scottish Premiership win over Ross County. Nouble's guided header opened the scoring, before captain Devlin doubled the advantage in the week his manager said he is likely to leave. A bundled effort from Simon Murray gave the visitors hope, but they failed to find a potentially vital equaliser and fall to 11th in the table. Livingston, however, move into the top six and, while Martindale was full of praise for his two goalscorers, he confessed that the pair are unlikely to remain in West Lothian come next season. "I think there's a couple of Championship clubs looking at him [Nouble]. I'd be amazed if he wasn't playing football at a bigger club, and I don't mean that disrespectfully to Livingston. Joel Nouble is a talent. "The skipper was excellent too. He scores a fantastic goal. Again, there's a good chance he won't be here next year, but you can see the desire and the application. He wants to do well for Livingston." Perhaps unsurprisingly, two of the division's most out of form sides started in a cagey manner, with quality at a premium in the opening stages. Morgan Boyes saw his effort blocked in the box for the hosts, before County began to grow into the game, seeing a stretching Keith Watson fire over from a corner. County's confidence was quickly curtailed in the game's first display of real skill. The returning James Penrice floated a delightful ball onto the head of Nouble, who bullied his man to guide a header across goal and give Livingston the lead. It wouldn't be long before Martindale's side doubled their advantage, doing so through a man who the manager confirmed is set to depart West Lothian this summer. After a melee in the box, the ball dropped to Devlin on the edge and a rifled half-volley sparked emotional celebrations from the much-loved Livingston captain. And he continued to show his commitment to the cause early in the second half, bursting forward and forcing Ross Laidlaw to stand tall and turn his stinging strike behind. County shuffled the pack in search of a spark, and found one in the form of Murray. His strike partner, fellow January signing Eamonn Brophy, narrowly beat the offside trap to steal in behind, and his square ball was rammed home by Murray. Livingston remained resolute as they stifled the advances of their desperate opposition, whose hopes were deflated when Brophy's strike was blocked defiantly by Penrice as the West Lothian side confirmed their first win in five games. When a player's departure is all but confirmed ahead of time, anxiety can brew about how much of themselves they'll give to the badge still on their chest. Devlin proved the Livingston badge is still close to his heart. The captain galvanised Livingston towards the type of home performance their fans have come to expect. They battled hard, fighting ferociously for every ball - but crucially, won the game with real moments of quality. Both goals exemplified the technical skill at Martindale's disposal, and it's that technical skill he'll rely on if Livingston are to truly reinvigorate their top-six charge. County, meanwhile, only offered flashes of the fighting spirit you'd imagine would be crucial in keeping them in the top-flight. They were blown away by Livingston in just a few first-half minutes, rarely looking to fashioning a recovery. With Dundee United and Kilmarnock both picking up points, the time to instil some pre-split confidence is rapidly running out. Two January signings combining well for the goal will be the silver lining to the relegation-shaped cloud hanging over Dingwall. If they're to preserve Premiership status, Brophy and Murray will need to burgeon an even brighter bond. Livingston manager David Martindale: "I thought we dominated large spells of the first half. I thought we were very good, very creative on the ball. "I think we had three or four chances to kill the game off. We give away a soft goal. It was a little bit similar to the Dundee United game, the difference being we managed to get a second goal this week." Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "We lose two in two minutes. Up to that point, Ross [Laidlaw] had nothing to do. "It gives us a mountain to climb. Second half, I put five subs on and we really went for it. I asked the players to go on and make an impact today, and they did."
Ross County
Manager	Malcolm (Malky) Mackay
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 2: Connor Randall, 6: Alexander Iacovitti 1, 11: Joshua Sims, 14: Victor Loturi, 15: Keith Watson, 16: George Harmon, 26: Jordan White, 27: Eamonn Brophy, 29: Gwion Edwards, 42: Nohan Kenneh
Bench	21: Ross Munro, 4: David Cancola, 8: Ross Callachan, 9: Dominic Samuel, 17: Simon Murray 1, 25: Alexander Samuel, 30: Dylan Smith, 49: Josh Stone
Livingston
Manager	David Martindale
Starting 11	Shamal George 1, Nicky Devlin 1, Cristian Montaño, Morgan Boyes, Luiyi de Lucas, Scott Pittman, Jason Holt 1, Joel Nouble 1, Andrew Shinnie, James Penrice, Bruce Anderson
Bench	Dylan Bahamboula 1, Jamie Brandon, Stephen Kelly, Kurtis Guthrie, Jack Hamilton, Stephane Omeonga, Lucas Stenhouse