Livingston suffered a second defeat at the hands of league leaders Kilmarnock in the last match of the campaign before the new year.

The Lionesses looked positive in an end-to-end start to the match, with both sides afforded big chances early on. Kilmarnock made the most of their early chances with O’Brien converting after the fallout from a corner minutes after Mackie had cleared the ball off the line to deny the previous attack.

Livingston continued to venture forward but failed to pick out that crucial final ball on a couple of occasions, while Canavan and Stout fired wide for the visitors. A new-look front three, including the debuting Nicole Cariney, connected well on multiple occasions, with the biggest early chance falling to striker Megan Wands, who was unable to convert a difficult first-time finish. Both teams knew the next goal in the game would be important, and Kilmarnock netted two more in quick succession, courtesy of Robinson and Canavan, to pull three ahead going into the break.

The home side looked to disrupt Kilmarnock’s rhythm early in the second half when Justine Strain showed some trademark pace to shake off her two markers and drive a shot at Currie in the Kilmarnock goal. However, the visitors added their fourth as Canavan turned in a rebound off the crossbar for her second of the afternoon. Cowan made it five for the Ayrshire side immediately after an extended break that saw Hannah Mackie go off early with a knock.

Academy graduate Aby Pickard and Leah Daly joined the fray late on to inject some energy into the Lionesses’ offence in search of a consolation goal, but Kilmarnock would be next to score as Hanvey put the seal on a 6-0 victory with just over ten minutes to play.

Up next is the winter break and a chance to reset, as the Lionesses look to Dundee United away from home on the 18th of January as their next challenge in the league.

Match report: Kieran Loughren

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