McKay’s double leads Livi to three points
Beth McKay netted twice as Livingston Women took another big step towards the SWF Championship title thanks to a 5-1 away win over Ayr United.
A blistering start saw the leaders open up a 3-0 lead inside 18 minutes with McKay getting the ball rolling by turning home a Lucy Brown pass on six minutes before the pair combined to set up Ashley Elizabeth who duly doubled the lead.
Jess Murphy made it three with a fine header from a Gemma Mason delivery.
United pulled one back just before the break but the Lionesses ensured that wasn’t a momentum changer with a solid defensive performance.
And they rounded off the scoring thanks to late strikes from Shannon Mulligan and McKay to ensure they remained 13 points clear at the top of the table.
A delighted boss, Paul Jaconelli, told the Courier:“It was a thoroughly good perfromance pretty much from start to finish.
“There was some really good football played, especially when we got the ball down the wings with Beth and Lucy. That caused them real problems.
“We were solid over the park to be honest. Defensively we put in a great shift and that gave us a platform to build on going forward.”
He added:“I thought it could be a very tricky game because Ayr are a good side who are just relentless and in fairness to them they never stopped.
“They’ve caused us lots of problems in previous games but the girls were brilliant.
“They got a wee boost with their goal just before the break but we dealt with that really well by coming out fast at the start of the second-half.”
The Lionesses are idle this weekend but will be keeping a keen eye on the clash between second and third as Renfrew host Rossvale.
They are next in action on March 26 with Rossvale making the trip through to the Tony Macaroni Arena.
Jaconelli commented:“We’ve got a week off now which is a shame because after a game like that you just want the next one. There’s positives and negatives because it does give the girls a bit of a rest which can be a good thing for them.”