Kilmarnock 2-0 Livingston: Three things we learned
Kilmarnock defeated Livingston 2-0 at a sun-kissed Rugby Park. Let’s look at what stood out:
Vassell and Armstrong provide ammunition for Killie
The home side went into this game knowing that a win would be vital for their survival hopes after losing 2-0 away to Motherwell last time out. Derek McInnes made three changes from the defeat at Fir Park, bringing in Jeriel Dorsett for Ash Taylor, Alan Power for Lewis Mayo and Kyle Vassell for Scott Robinson.
The first half was a pretty uneventful affair with precious little goalmouth action for either side. However, that would change in the second period as after 47 minutes, Vassell was played through by his strike partner, Christian Doidge. The Northern Irishman’s shot found the bottom corner, giving him his first Premiership goal and most importantly, his side the lead.
The players warm up ahead of the Premiership clash (Image: Laurie Finlayson)
Kilmarnock continued to keep Livingston at bay and pushed for a second goal. In the 64th minute, they got just that courtesy of a Daniel Armstrong spot-kick, which was awarded after a lengthy VAR check. The ball clearly hit Jason Holt’s outstretched arm, before Armstrong slotted the ball beyond Livi ‘keeper Shamal George.
The Lions need to show some pride
Livingston have now picked up seven away defeats on the bounce without finding the net. The Lions have little to play for except being top of the bottom six, and it showed as there was a general lack of urgency in their play.
With three games still to play, David Martindale will be hoping for a reaction. Thankfully for Livi, they only have one more away match left (against St Johnstone on the final day).
The battle at the bottom remains wide open
With this weekend’s results, we are still no closer to knowing the full roster of Premiership clubs next season. Kilmarnock moved up to 10th with this result, but with Ross County beating fellow strugglers Dundee United 3-1, Killie are only outside of the playoff spot by a point and off the foot of the table by three points. So, even with just three games remaining, predicting who will go down is impossible.
There is a huge possibility it will go down to the final day (May 28) when Killie host the Staggies and Dundee United travel to Motherwell. It’s also not out of the question for St Johnstone to drag themselves into this dogfight as they are only two points better off than the Ayrshire side.
It is certainly all to play for in the bottom half of the table as we near the climax of the Premiership season.