Livingston 4-2 Ross County
Irn-Bru First Division, Almondvale Stadium, Saturday 31 January 2009
A BLISTERING opening period was enough for Livingston as they recorded their first win in five games against Ross County, despite a spirited fightback from the visitors.

Early strikes from Armand One and Murray Davidson, followed up by a Dave Mackay penalty on the stroke of half-time, seemed to secure the win - before the second half was dominated by County.

Richie Hart and Sean Higgins got them back in the game before Leigh Griffiths' late strike sealed the win.

After a bright start by the Lions, One latched onto a long ball down the left. Outmuscling the attentions of Alex Keddie, he drew out 'keeper Derek Soutar before slotting the ball home underneath to give his side the lead after 11 minutes.

The presence of One was too much for Scott Boyd in the opening exchanges and it was his strength which led to Livi's second four minutes later.

Cammy MacDonald's throw to the big striker was headed behind under pressure, and goal two was to come from the resulting corner.

Tony McParland floated the ball in from the left hand side, and the run of Murray Davidson was perfectly timed to head it home.

Both sides had a number of half chances before Livi were handed an opportunity to grab their third. Griffiths run into the box was halted by Alex Keddie inside the area, and referee Steve Conroy pointed immediately to the spot.

Dave Mackay stepped up to increase the Lions' lead, slamming the ball into the top left corner of the net for what was his third goal of the season.

Livingston failed to show the same performance levels in the second half, allowing County to settle into the game and dominate.

And it took Derek Adams' men only eight minutes to reduce the defecit as Richie Hart steered in a corner from close range after the Livi defence failed to clear.

County continued to dominate without posing a major threat to Roddy McKenzie's goal. Livi though were threatening on the counter. David Winters had a great chance to extend Livi's lead and Leigh Griffiths was guilty of beign wasteful with a number of opportunities after cleverly getting himself clean through on goal.

With four minutes to go, Ross County got within a goal of a draw as Sean Higgins curled home a free kick from the edge of the box past Roddy McKenzie.

And they nearly found a winner in the final minutes with a deep cross to the back post which Livi 'keeper McKenzie was equal to.

McKenzie dropped the ball as he hit the ground, but Armand One's quick reactions saw his long clearance fall kindly. Leigh Griffiths for another chance on goal.

Sparky made no mistake this time, confidently stroking the ball home after yet another burst of energy to chase the ball down. Starting his run in his own half to catch the ball as it landed halfway between the halfway line and the goal, his first touch set him up perfectly to score, ensuring Livi's win looked as comfortable as it ultimately should have been.
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Livingston line-up
1 Roddy McKenzie
2 Dave Mackay  
3 Cammy MacDonald  
4 Danny Griffin  
5 Murray Davidson
6 Chris Innes
7 Tony McParland
8 Gary Miller
9 Leigh Griffiths  
10 David Winters
11 Armand One  
Substitutes
12 Jason Talbot
14 Keaghan Jacobs
15 Joe Hamill
16 Andy Halliday
17 Pierre Martini