Edge of darkness

Sunday 3 March 2013

MANAGERLESS Livingston yesterday twisted the screw on basement side Airdrie United's hopes of beating the First Division drop with a 4-1 win at Almondvale.

Custom byline text:

Any hope the Lanarkshire side had of taking advantage of Livingston's off-field troubles vanished in a first half which exposed the flaws that have plagued them all season – and left them six points adrift of second-bottom Dumbarton.

Able enough going forward, the Airdrie were ultimately toothless and, combined with poor defending, the end result was not a surprise.John Boyle squandered an early chance to put the visitors in front when he skied a penalty kick after Jamie Bain had been fouled by Jesus Garcia Tena.It was just the warning Livingston needed and they took advantage of a defensive slip by Gavin Griffin to move swiftly ahead through Anthony Andreu.Andreu scored his second not long afterwards when he guided a low shot past Robbie Thomson from the edge of the penalty area.Iain Russell collected a third after good work from Stefan Scougall and Scougall made it 4-0 after Airdrie had been reduced to ten men after Sean Lynch had picked up a red card for a wild challenge on Burton O'Brien. Boyle managed to come up with a late consolation but Airdrie are in danger of being cut adrift at the bottom.Dumbarton could have improved their situation even more had they held on at home to Cowdenbeath, but a goal from Craig Moore in the final minute gave Colin Cameron's side the point they deserved in a 2-2 draw at Bet Butler Stadium.The first half belonged to the Fifers after they survived an early scare when Bryan Prunty's header slipped wide.Jamie Stevenson put them ahead when he beat Stephen Grindlay with a precise shot after Greg Stewart had been allowed to waltz through the home defence.Craig Moore then hit the inside of the post as Cowdenbeath pressed for a second and Grindlay made a couple of notable stops to keep his side in the game.Dumbarton improved after the break and Thomas Flynn had to sprint from his area to halt Mark Gilhaney's run and the goalkeeper was then grateful Prunty came up with a tame finish when he should have done better.Flynn had to go off with a hand injury and no sooner had he been replaced than Dumbarton equalised, Prunty netting after Craig Wight had parried a Jim Lister shot.The game was there for the taking and Scott Agnew looked to have won it for Dumbarton with his 84th-minute goal, but Moore had the final word.

Contextual targeting label:

Sport

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Edge of darkness

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED