Three second-half goals in the space of eight minutes spared Livingston a potential Scottish Cup upset as they ran out comfortable 3-1 winners over Stenhousemuir at Ochilview Park, writes David Hastie.
A Scott Pittman strike followed by a Steven Bradley double sent the League Two club out, despite them taking a first-half lead through Nicky Jamieson.
The Lions made two changes to the side that romped to victory against St Johnstone the previous week, with Stephane Omeonga and Sean Kelly dropping to the bench and replaced by Jason Holt and Pittman.
Livingston had all the early pressure and possession with the game played in the Stenhousemuir half. The hosts had clearly set out to frustrate the Premiership side, sitting deep and narrow in numbers.
This allowed Livi plenty of the ball but they found it difficult to break down The Warriors. With loads of space down each flank, Nicky Devlin and James Penrice looked dangerous but their deliveries into a crowded box were always dealt with.
Stenhousemuir’s tactics were working and halfway through the first-half took a shock lead. In a rare break up the field, they won a corner, with Matty Yates’ delivery finding big defender Jamieson, who headed the ball home for the hosts.
The goal clearly shocked the Lions, who had all the play up until that point, however despite again being camped in the Warrior’s half, chances were few and far between. They were more than happy to allow Livi possession around the box inviting crosses which were easily dealt with.
The visitors were working hard to carve chances, with Bruce Anderson getting his head on a couple of Devlin crosses, both of which were saved and held well by keeper Jay Cantley.
The Warriors had a chance to double their lead five minutes before the half. A long ball up field found Tam Orr, who managed to shake free from Penrice before driving the ball low across the six-yard box. This was met by Jack Fitzwater, was relieved to see the ball bounce off him and into the arms of Shamal George.
Livi kept pounding the door and their best chance of the half fell to Morgan Boyes. A Stephen Kelly corner saw Boyes leap higher than all, but his header agonisingly rippled the top of the net as Livi went in at half-time wondering what they had to do to get a goal.
They didn’t have to wait long after the break for an answer though, with the equaliser coming just sevens minutes in. A long ball from the back found Anderson and he made up for his initial slip by cutting the ball back for Pittman. The Lions' record appearance holder made no mistake, slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
Bradley almost got Livi into the lead shortly after the equaliser. Collecting the ball from about 30 yards out, he unleashed a thunderous strike but was unlucky to see it miss just to the left of the goal.
A minute later however, he made no mistake. After initially being fouled by Warriors captain Michael Miller 25 yards out, he stepped up himself to curl a wonderful free-kick up over the wall and into the top corner to give the visitors the lead.
Livi were in their stride now and five minutes later made it 3-1. Penrice, who had been working hard all game, received the ball again on the left wing. His low cross into the box found Bradley, who showed composure beyond his years to take a touch past the Stenhousemuir defender before deftly slotting low beyond the keeper.
With the lead, Livingston now settled into the game using their possession to slow the game down and force Stenhousemuir out their own half. Warriors manager Gary Naismith took the opportunity to make a quadruple substitution in an attempt to find a lifeline.
But it was the visitors who were more threatening with substitute Dylan Bahamboula making an instant impact. Taking a beautiful touch to bring down a ball from the back, the leggy winger turned his defender and lashed the ball goalwards, only to be denied by a wonderful save from Cantley.
The Lions managed the game effectively to shut down any hope of a Stenhousemuir comeback, although striker Kurtis Guthrie, who replaced Anderson, will be disappointed his strike in added time whistled past the far post instead of finding the corner.
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