Livingston boss David Martindale heaped praise on his players - but chastised them for almost letting a three goal lead slip against St Johnstone.
The Lions roared to a 3-0 half-time lead thanks in no small part to an abject Saints display. A fine Stephen Kelly double before James Penrice's first top flight goal six minutes before the break looked to have wrapped the points up at the interval.
And the Livi gaffer admitted it felt like his players thought that too because they were punished for the cautious approach after the break as half-time subs Jamie Murphy and Connor McLennan both turned rebounds home in the space of two minutes midway through the half.
That made for a nervy finish with the hosts looking the most likely to find the net again. But it would be Livi who bagged the sixth goal of a thrilling contest with Penrice slamming high into the roof of the net on 81 minutes to seal the victory.
A delighted, but somewhat relieved, Martindale commented: "I was off after that fourth goal. It is the position you are in at 3-0 and then you think at 3-2, ‘I am not going to be able to read the papers for a week here.’
“I was nervous. I watch games emotionally and I manage emotionally at times. When we scored that fourth goal I was off. I nearly had the jacket off but it was raining and it was too cold.
"It was a game for the neutral. I thought we were fantastic in the first-half and the goals we scored were all things we worked on in training. In the second-half we played to safe and hold onto the lead. The defensive line was too deep and we gave them too much territory in our own half.
"Credit to St Johnstone for coming back but credit to my players as well for scoring in the manner that they did after going through a wobble. That knocked the wind out of St Johnstone."
The win sees Livi jump into fourth with Martindale admitting the players deserve praise for their efforts this season, adding: "The most pleasing thing is getting to the 30-point mark after 21 matches.
“It’s an improvement on last season and to be sitting where we are at this stage of the season is incredible from the players. They've been brilliant and they deserve a lot of credit."
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