JACOBS OVERJOYED AT MOMENTOUS GOAL

UP until yesterday, Keaghan Jacobs’ greatest claim to fame with Livingston was taking the field with his three brothers in a Third Division game against Albion Rovers eight years ago. A small piece of Scottish football history has now been overtaken by a rather more notable feat. In scoring the all-important goal at Firhill to seal a 3-1 aggregate win over Partick Thistle, the South African-born player ensured his name will forever be synonymous with the final act of a truly extraordinary rise for the team under David Hopkin. ‘I’m knackered but it’s all worth it,’ smiled the 28-year-old. ‘What a performance from the boys. We thoroughly deserved it. We pride ourselves on our energy levels. ‘It’s definitely the biggest goal of my career. I’ve got three goals this season and they’ve all come against Partick, so I’ll be sad to see them go!’ Jacobs began his career at Livingston in 2007 and was there two years later when they were demoted to the bottom tier. Although briefly back in the country of his birth with Bidwest Vits when Livvy were again demoted to the third tier after losing a play-off semi-final to Stranraer two years ago, no one had to remind the midfielder of the scale of this most recent achievement. ‘It’s an unbelievable story,’ he said. ‘At the start of the season, a lot of people would just have had us trying to stay in the league, but the more it went on, the more belief there was. In two seasons, we’ve gone up twice. ‘To finish as runners-up was unreal but to go on and get promoted is unbelievable. ‘I don’t think anyone will relish playing us. People will question what we’re going to do next season but we’ve played the likes of St Mirren, Dundee United and Partick and we’ve held our own. Hopefully, we do the same.’