Ross County vs Livingston. Scottish Premiership.
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Report as Yan Dhanda gets two assists as Ross County pick up what could be a vital three points in their fight to avoid relegation with a 2-0 win against Livingston
Saturday 6 May 2023 19:35, UK
Yan Dhanda helped himself to two assists as Ross County picked up what could be a vital three points in their fight to avoid relegation with a 2-0 victory over Livingston.
Going into the weekend four points adrift at the bottom of the table, County knew they could not afford to lose against Livi and goals in either half from Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel secured a valuable win.
Livingston finished the match with 10 men after substitute Kurtis Guthrie was dismissed following a VAR review with eight minutes to go.
The stakes involved for the Staggies perhaps had an impact on how they started the match, as it was the visitors who did most of the probing.
Despite Livingston dominating possession across the opening 20 minutes, it was largely without much substance as Ross Laidlaw in the home goal barely got a touch of the ball.
Slowly, County then started to find something of a rhythm.
Some neat footwork from Victor Loturi just inside Livingston's box beat his man, but his low cross was cleared off the line by Morgan Boyes.
Bruce Anderson - County's conqueror the last time these two met in Dingwall - fashioned a shooting opportunity for himself at the edge of the box in response, but could only clip the side-netting.
Simon Murray then should have scored for the hosts when he met Dhanda's cross at the back post, only for a combination of Nicky Devlin and the woodwork to deny him.
However, a similar ball from Dhanda five minutes before half-time led to the breakthrough, as Iacovitti made the most of being totally unmarked to head into the far corner.
County would then make it 2-0 on the hour mark.
Just beforehand, manager Malky Mackay made a triple substitution that involved Samuel coming on, and he would score his first goal for the club.
Again it was Dhanda who provided the assist, crossing for the Welshman to open his account over 20 months after moving to Dingwall - and having spent 10 months on the sidelines with a cruciate injury.
While that gave County a comfortable lead on the scoreboard, things would go from bad to worse for the visitors in Dingwall in the 82nd minute.
Guthrie, not long introduced as a substitute himself, was initially shown a yellow card for catching Keith Watson in the face, but on review by VAR it was upgraded to a red for violent conduct.
That meant it was a comfortable end to the match for County, who closed the gap at the bottom to a single point with results elsewhere.
Ross County boss Malky Mackay: "I was really delighted with the way the substitutes came on and impacted the game.
"Josh Stones and particularly Alex have had to bide their time. They are both boys who are low maintenance that work hard at training every day, for no reward on a Saturday at times.
"I'm delighted for them. Alex scores and I'm so happy because he has been out for a year with a torn cruciate.
"We could have scored another couple in the second half, but we really showed that confidence to push on. Livingston are a team that make it difficult for people, but we showed we could dig it out."
Livingston boss David Martindale: "I thought up until that first goal we had controlled large portions of the game.
"The first goal was a poor one for us to lose. I could see Iacovitti walking into the box unopposed from the technical area, and when you allow that to happen it's a recipe for disaster.
"Ross County started nervously, but that goal gave them confidence to grow into the game, and as that happened we grew out of the game."
Ross County are away to Dundee United in their next Scottish Premiership match on May 13, with Livingston at Kilmarnock on the same day.
Both games kick-off at 3pm.
