St Mirren squeezed past fellow top-flight strugglers Livingston on penalty kicks to earn their first win in six matches and progress to the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.

Malik Dijksteel netted the decisive spot kick for Stephen Robinson’s men – who have been on an abject run since being crowned League Cup winners just over a month ago – as Livi’s winless run extends to 21 games.

The two embattled sides will meet again in the Premiership on Tuesday in a relegation showdown (19:45 GMT).

Roland Idowu opened the scoring for St Mirren after just four minutes, when he finished a sweeping move with a smart finish to turn in Jayden Richardson’s cross.

However, Livingston responded seven minutes later with a team goal of equal – if not better – quality.

Hometown hero Scott Arfield scored his first goal for the club at the age of 37 after cleverly dummying a pass before latching onto Joshua Brenet’s inventive flick and poking the ball beyond Shamal George.

The game did not slow from there. Declan John and Killian Phillips came close before half-time as both sides exchanged blows in a breathless first period.

The second half initially followed a similar pattern; counter-attack after counter-attack, but with deteriorating quality as the players tired.

The hosts wrestled control as the game wore on, with Mahamadou Susoho and Robbie Muirhead coming close before Stevie May failed to convert a one-on-one.

Yet despite that period of dominance, Dan Nlundulu passed up two big opportunities to retake the lead for St Mirren before the end of regulation time.

Substitute Nlundulu then missed a third opportunity in the second half of extra time when his scuffed effort on the six-yard line was blocked and cleared.

The match was eventually decided by penalties, with former Livingston goalkeeper George haunting his old club with an important stop before Dijksteel’s winner.

Match report: Adam Binnie

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