Date	Saturday, 06 May 2023
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Ross County 0:2 Livingston
Venue	Global Energy Stadium at Victoria Park
Attendance	3,129
Referee	David Dickinson
Comments	Match Report Report by Martin Dowden for the BBC. Bottom Six Ross County 2 Livingston 0 Ross County secured a vital three points for their Scottish Premiership survival hopes as they recorded a 2-0 home victory against Livingston. Goals either side of the interval were enough for Malky Mackay's side to close to within a point of Kilmarnock and Dundee United, albeit they remain bottom of the table. Headed efforts by Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel, both from Yan Dhanda crosses, were enough for the hosts to see of a lively Livingston side. Livingston's day got worse when substitute Kurtis Guthrie appeared to throw an elbow that caught Keith Watson. After a VAR review the decision was red and County cruised from there. Despite the defeat, though, an almost insurmountable 11 points separate David Martindale's side from the relegation play-off spot. In the relegation run-in, capitalising on home advantage is often crucial. County did that at a vital time and what a shot in the arm this win is for their hopes of remaining in the Premiership. That said, Mackay's side appeared to lack urgency as the game started and unfolded. Either that, or the enormity of the task they face in the remaining fixtures was inhibiting their performance. Livingston, with the title of best of the rest to play for, started fairly brightly without overly testing County's backline. They had a few half chances well blocked but seemed more in control. Bruce Anderson produced their best moment with a lovely turn and shot that crept narrowly past a post. The home supporters were muted as their charges looked to find some route to closing in on sides above them. Hope emerged when a lovely cross to the back post almost fell perfectly for Simon Murray to nod home before the bravery of Nicky Devlin snuffed out that danger. Minutes later, though, the vital breakthrough arrived. Another quality cross from the right found Iacovitti unmarked around the penalty spot and he directed a lovely header into the corner. It got better. Around the hour mark, Mackay made a triple change and one of those, Samuel, nodded home another excellent cross from Yan Dhanda to give County a vital cushion. Stephen Kelly nearly nicked a very late consolation when his angled dink clipped a post, but the result wasn't really in doubt. County are back in the fight just when they needed it. If County do survive this relegation battle, this will be most certainly be a crucial moment in that journey. They had to get something positive to stay in touch and now very much are. This was their penultimate home match and they simply had to put pressure on teams above them. Job done and this win delivers a little momentum to shrug off the calamitous defeat at Tynecastle and move forward with belief they can stay up. Livingston will be frustrated. After a fairly bright start they seemed to wilt and offered very little response when faced with adversity. Livingston manager David Martindale: "For the first goal, I was shouting at the side of the park; I could see Iacovitti coming in. He walked into our box unopposed, nobody picked him up and he got a free header. "And the second goal is very, very similar. I think they get a wee lift and a buzz from the crowd in the second half, cause they were nervous and I could see that." Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "A really good result, good win for us. We knew it was going to be a tough one and there's certainly integrity attached to the performance in terms of playing against a team that's at full strength. "I thought second half we really pushed onto the front foot, very proactive throughout the whole of the second half."
Ross County
Manager	Malcolm (Malky) Mackay
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 2: Connor Randall 1, 4: David Cancola, 5: Jack Baldwin, 6: Alexander Iacovitti 1, 10: Yan Dhanda, 14: Victor Loturi 1, 15: Keith Watson, 16: George Harmon, 17: Simon Murray, 26: Jordan White
Bench	21: Ross Munro, 7: Owura Edwards, 11: Joshua Sims, 19: Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila, 22: Jordon Tillson, 25: Alexander Samuel 1, 30: Dylan Smith, 42: Nohan Kenneh, 49: Josh Stone
Livingston
Manager	David Martindale
Starting 11	Shamal George, Nicky Devlin, Jack Fitzwater, Cristian Montaño, Morgan Boyes, Steven Bradley, Stephen Kelly, Jason Holt, Joel Nouble, Sean Kelly 1, Bruce Anderson
Bench	Tom Parkes, Dylan Bahamboula 1, Scott Pittman, Jamie Brandon, Andrew Shinnie, Luiyi de Lucas, Kurtis Guthrie 1, James Penrice, Jack Hamilton