Date	Sunday, 10 January 2021
Competition	Scottish Premiership
Fixture/Score	Livingston 3:1 Ross County
Venue	Tony Macaroni Stadium,
Attendance
Referee	Alan Muir
Comments	Match Report Report by Thomas Duncan for the BBC. Played Behind Closed Doors Livingston 3 Ross County 1 Livingston have their eyes on catching Hibernian in fourth place, says manager David Martindale, after late goals against Ross County earned a sixth Scottish Premiership win in a row. Scott Robinson's clever lob put the league's in-form side in front, before Charlie Lakin levelled. But close-range strikes from substitutes Alan Forrest and Jack Hamilton sealed an eighth straight win. "We're playing well and picking points up," Martindale said. "I think you've got to be realistic and you're up there for a reason. It would be disappointing if we started falling down the table so we've got to look at the team above us. "But we'll evaluate on a week-by-week basis because I've been in the Premiership for three years now and I know how quick that can change." Defeat for Ross County keeps them one point adrift at the foot of the table. Livingston - who stay fifth - now have European football in their sights as they moved to within six points of Hibernian in fourth with a game in hand. Their red-hot run put them top of the Premiership form table over the last five games coming into this round of fixtures, having scored 11 goals and conceded just two in their run of five straight wins. It was no surprise, then, that they made a fast start. Robinson was sharp to show Keith Watson a clean pair of heels and latch on to Nicky Devlin's ball over the top, and the forward took advantage as Ross Laidlaw charged from his goal, cleverly lobbing into the net. Scott Pittman came close with a rasping volley as the home side rattled an off the pace County. But the visitors drew level from nothing, and got the benefit of the break of the ball as Harry Paton's scuffed shot fell nicely for Lakin, who dispatched confidently at the near post. The equaliser revived Hughes' side and, imbued with fresh confidence, they should have gone ahead when Jason Naismith's cross fell to Oli Shaw five yards out, only for the striker to head over. Unbeaten in their last two matches, County have showed an ability to stay in the fight for longer since Hughes was appointed last month, and the second-half was finely balanced. But Martindale's substitutions proved the key difference. Forrest and Hamilton were brought on and combined brilliantly for the goals. For Livingston's second, Pittman's one-two with Hamilton allowed the former to nudge the ball to Forrest, whose low finish was heading for the far corner before lashed into the opposite one by County defender Alex Iacovitti. Then Hamilton's touch in midfield sent Forrest scampering clear, and the winger looked up and slid the ball across goal for Hamilton to finish for the third goal and clinch yet another three points. If we did not know it already, it is becoming clearer and clearer that Martindale is an astute operator. Everything he has touched since taking over from Gary Holt at the end of November has turned to victory and his double substitution won this match. It is not just the results, Livingston really are a joy to watch. All three goals were well-worked, particularly the second and third, and they play with tremendous tempo and energy. There are no superstars, just a squad of players who have worked extremely hard to even get to Premiership level, and have no intention of stopping there. They look well-placed for a top-six finish. As for County, there is no doubt Hughes has made an impact. They looked to play out from the back early on, but struggled to get into a rhythm. Despite that, they battled admirably and were in the fight until the final 10 minutes. Conceding goals is obviously a problem, but scoring is arguably a more pressing problem. No side has found the net fewer times in the Premiership, and Shaw's glaring miss at 1-1 was a prime example of how not taking your chances can come back to bite. The manager's gamble of throwing on forwards Tony Andreu and Billy Mckay was arguably the right call as they needed more in attack, but ultimately it left them short in defence, and they were ruthlessly punished. Livingston manager David Martindale: "Probably 3-1 flatters us slightly but I did think we did more than enough to win the game. The message at half-time was just keep doing what we're doing I felt the game would open up, and it did. The pleasing thing is that all three subs that came on played a part in the goals." Ross County manager John Hughes: "There wasn't much in the game. Even at 2-1, Tony Andreu had a shot where the keeper saved, and in the first half Oli Shaw might have done better with a header. Livingston knew they were in a game."
Ross County
Manager	John Hughes
Starting 11	1: Ross Laidlaw, 6: Ross Draper 1, 8: Oliver Shaw, 15: Keith Watson, 16: Alexander Iacovitti 1, 18: Stephen Kelly, 19: Charlie Lakin 1, 22: Jordon Tillson 1, 23: Jason Naismith, 24: Harrison Paton 1, 25: Coll Donaldson
Bench	21: Ross Doohan, 2: Connor Randall, 7: Michael Gardyne, 9: Billy Mckay, 11: Iain Vigurs, 14: Jermaine Hylton, 17: Regan Charles-Cook, 28: Tony Andreu, 43: Josh Reid
Livingston
Manager	David Martindale
Starting 11	Max Stryjek, Nicky Devlin, Jon Guthrie, Efe Ambrose, Ciaron Brown, Craig Sibbald, Josh Mullin, Scott Pittman, Marvin Bartley, Jason Holt 1, Scott Robinson 1
Bench	Robby McCrorie, Julien Serrano, Jack McMillan, Steve Lawson, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair, Alan Forrest 1, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Jack Hamilton 1, Scott Tiffoney