Livi fight back for share of spoils as fans watch on in Dingwall

Supporters were back in the Global Energy Stadium last night to watch an entertaining 1 -1 d r aw between Ross County and Livingston.

Oli Shaw scored his second goal in as many weeks in the 28th minute to put the Staggies ahead in front of 300 home fans, but Livingston came back fighting after the interval.

Nicky Devlin ended up being the man to save a point for the Lions, turning Scott Pittman’s cross into the net.

Stuart Kettlewell made four changes to his Staggies line-up, picking the same 11 players who finished the match against Dundee United last time out as he tried to find a winning formula.

Livingston brought three new faces into their own starting line-up, with Alan Forrest, Scott Robertson and Steve L aw s o n all coming into the starting eleven.

The evening got off to a cagey start though, with neither side threatening to break the deadlock.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had a golden opportunity to put the visitors in front in the 16th minute, when a group of Staggies defenders missed a throw-in.

That gave the Arsenal youth product time to turn and shoot – only for his effort to blaze well off-target.

There was a moment of concern for County when stand-in captain Michael Gardyne required treatment after being brought down by Devlin, but that turned to joy when Shaw scored from the dead ball.

On-loan Rangers midfielder Stephen Kelly took the free-kick, keeping it low but in the air, and Shaw stooped to connect with the ball and guide it past Max Stryjek into the far corner.

A much brighter start to the second half brought Livingston into the game though, and their perseverance would pay off in the 55th minute.

Coll Do n a l d s o n was dragged wide to deal with the ball but, as he tried to switch positions back with Tom Grivosti, Pittman made a dangerous run down the left wing.

With p l ay e r s out of position, he had the time to send a dangerous ball across the face of goal, where Devlin slid in to draw the Lions level.

Though the match was finely poised going into the final minutes, there were not the fireworks in front of goal that spectators may have expected 24 hours after Bonfire Night.

T here was plenty of i n t e n s i t y, but neither goalkeeper had a save to make at the end of the match, which ended with nothing to separate the sides.

Livi head coach Gary Holt told the BBC: “I asked them to leave everything on the pitch, come in on your hands and knees after the game and we’ll get a result. I certainly got that. With a wee bit of luck and extra composure in the final third I think we had extra opportunities to score more goals.”