THE SCOUT REPORT

Express sports reporter Ben Ramage takes a look at Saints’ opponents this afternoon as they welcome Livingston to the SMISA Stadium.

FORM

Livingston’s incredible run over the festive period saw them draw twice with Celtic before toppling St Mirren in the League Cup semi-finals at Hampden.

The on-form side followed up that 1-0 victory with 2-0 wins over Kilmarnock and Aberdeen, along with a 0-0 draw with the Dons in West Lothian.

The Lions have finally been tamed more recently though, falling to a surprise 2-1 home defeat to St Johnstone before suffering a 3-0 hammering from Dundee United at Tannadice. They currently sit five points above the Saints in the Premiership table in fifth place.

MANAGER

Having been involved behind the scenes in West Lothian since 2014 as a part-time volunteer, David Martindale finally took over the managerial reins officially on December 21.

Since the, n his side have been a revelation, winning 11 of his 16 games in charge so far. That has seen him rewarded with the manager of the month award for both December and January, with the club a virtual stick on for a top six place this season, despite having been languishing at the bottom of the table earlier in the campaign.

STAR PLAYER

St Mirren fans don’t need any introduction or warning about the danger that Scott Robinson poses.

The former Hearts and Kilmarnock player has been playing further forward for the Lions this season, and he bagged the all-important winner at Hampden when the two sides faced off last month.

Hi s m ov e m e n t , dogged determination and eye for goal mean he’ll definitely need to watched closely by the Buddies defence this afternoon.

LAST TIME THE SIDES MET

It really was a sore one for the Buddies to take last month when the pair met in the Betfred Cup semi-finals last month.

The Buddies failed to react to in-form Livingston’s quick start, with Scott Robinson crucially heading the West Lothian side ahead from a free-kick after just nine minutes.

The Saints gradually worked their way back into the tie, with the Paisley side twice going close to levelling on the break through Brandon Mason and Dylan Connolly in the first half.

The second period continued in much the same vein, with Jim Goodwin’s side trying every which way to get level.

Conor McCarthy saw a powerful header cleared off the line by Craig Sibbald, before Jon Obika was denied a penalty, having been deemed to have gone down too easily having already burst past Julien Serrano.

Kyle McAllister’s dangerous low cross somehow evaded every Saints player in the box, before Shaughnessy headed narrowly wide as the Lions held on to progress to the final.