Livi made a poor start to 2016 as Queen of the South left West Lothian with all three points for the second time this season to leave the Lions in ninth place in the Ladbrokes Championship table.

With caretaker boss David Hopkin still in charge, Livi made two changes to the side from the midweek defeat at Falkirk as Jackson Longridge and Jordan White came in for Myles Hippolyte and Jordyn Sheerin, both of whom dropped to the bench.

It was the Lions who made the brighter start and good link-up play between White and Liam Buchanan ended with Danny Mullen winning a free kick which was cleared for a corner. Gary Glen whipped in the resulting delivery but Declan Gallagher could only head it over the bar. White then showed quick feet to turn away from Lewis Kidd but was only able to force a corner which came to nothing.

Queens forced their first effort of note on 24 minutes when Gary Oliver got to the byline and fired in a low effort which Longridge did well to block on the slide. Up the other end a neat header from White sent Mullen scampering clear but his cross was just too hard for Buchanan. Ben Gordon then picked up the first yellow card of the game for a foul on Iain Russell, who had avoided punishment for a blatant dive minutes earlier. Ex-Lion Russell then came close to breaking the deadlock on 32 when he danced into space at the edge of the box before firing over the crossbar.

Livi then pushed forward once more and Buchanan came close when he won possession on the right, beat his man but could only drag his shot just wide of the post. That proved to be the last action of note in the first half as the sides went in all-square at the interval.

Half-time: Livingston 0-0 Queen of the South

The second half was a slow starter but burst into life on 50 minutes when former Livi hero Kyle Jacobs, whose penalty against Queens had kept the Lions up on the final day of last season, was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Longridge.

The first chances of note in the half went to the Lions as Glen unleashed a fierce effort which was deflected over the bar before his resulting corner was headed over the bar by Scott Pittman. Jacobs then came close for Queens with a curling effort which was well saved by Darren Jamieson. The Lions then made their first change as Hippolyte came on in place of Mullen. Glen was then booked for a trip on Russell before Queens made their first change as Derek Lyle replaced Alex Harris.

Lyle made an immediate impact as, within four minutes, he broke the deadlock when he fired a low strike past Jamieson. Livi interim boss Hopkin wasted little time reacting to the loss of the goal, sending Sheerin on in place of Buchanan. Sheerin almost made the same impact as Lyle when he latched on to a glancing header goalwards to prod in an effort which Robbie Thomson did well to save. The Lions were immediately punished for that missed chance as Queens went up the other end and doubled their lead when Russell wriggled free in the box and stabbed the ball into the corner of the net.

Livi were left with a mountain to climb but Sheerin came close to taking the first step when he fired in a powerful drive from the edge of the box which Thomson had to look sharp to keep out. Hippolyte then tried his luck from similar distance but Thomson produced another fine save before Hopkin made his final change, sending on Kieran Gibbons in place of Longridge.

The final action of the match saw great play from Sheerin end with White heading into the net only to be denied by the offside flag as Livi were condemned to a second consecutive 2-0 defeat and dropped to ninth in the Championship.

Full-time: Livingston 0-2 Queen of the South

Livingston: Jamieson, Longridge (Gibbons 85), Gordon, Pittman, Faria, White, Gallagher, Neill, Buchanan (Sheerin 66), Mullen (Hippolyte 57), Glen
Subs not used: Quinn, Millen, Knox, Currie

Queen of the South: Thomson, Kidd, Dowie, Higgins, Harris (Lyle 61), Millar (Pickard 85), Russell, Jacobs, Hutton, Marshall, Oliver (Conroy 90)
Subs not used: Atkinson, Brownlie, Moxon, Smith
Goals: Lyle (65), Russell (77)

Referee: Willie Collum
Att: 958
Match Report: Andy Crawford

Footage courtesy of QoSTV

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