SINCE Livingston returned to the Premiership via the play-offs in 2018, it is the West Lothian club’s steely resolve at the back that has underpinned much of their recent success. But as we head into the second half of the campaign, it is their attack that could be generating all the headlines.

Saturday’s 3-2 win over Hibs was typical of the Lions’ rise over the last five years or so and the players’ never-say-die attitude was evident as they twice came from behind before ultimately leaving Easter Road with all three points. The first goal arrived via a set-play, the second was a scrappy finish as Jack Fitzwater capitalised on some sloppy defending, and the third came through a blistering counter-attack and sublime finish from Alan Forrest.

The performance was representative of Davie Martindale’s reign and although it was Ayo Obileye, Fitzwater and Forrest who ended up on the scoresheet, there was another player who caught the eye.

Joel Nouble, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Arbroath, was handed his first Premiership start at the weekend and the big centre-forward seized it firmly with both hands. He was unable to mark his debut with a goal but the striker had a hand in all three for his team. It was Nouble who won the free-kick for Livingston’s opener, it was the 26-year-old who flicked on the throw-in for Fitzwater’s equaliser and a few minutes later, he played Forrest through to curl in the winner.

It was an impressive showing from a player who promises much. After arriving from Aldershot Town last summer, a six-month loan move to Gayfield was arranged. Nouble’s return of four goals in 20 Championship outings doesn’t appear much to shout about at first but a deeper dive shows just how important the Englishman was to the Angus club’s unlikely title tilt.

Standing at 6’3” tall, Nouble has a sizeable frame and he knows how to use it. At Arbroath, he was averaging 3.94 touches in the opposition box per game – the fourth-highest rate of any player with at least 1000 minutes under their belts, highlighting his ability to be an effective presence in the final third – while he has drawn more fouls (41) than any other player in the second tier.

Nouble had the fifth-most key passes per 90 minutes in the league (again, only including players with at least 1000 minutes) by the time he returned to Livi and was a reliable target man for Dick Campbell’s side. He was comfortable using his body to win and hold up the ball and possessed a handy knack for shifting it to a team-mate when the opportunity arose.

All of these qualities were on show in Leith at the weekend and the Hibs defenders won’t be the last to discover that Nouble’s bruising, bustling style can be difficult to play against. Those who watched him regularly at Gayfield will wax lyrical about his aptitude as a traditional target man – all he needs is someone to play off of him.

Martindale realised as much at Easter Road. The Livingston manager initially set his team up in a 4-3-3 where Nouble was tasked with leading the line alone. It left Nouble isolated and although he did well to fashion a few half-chances as he drove menacingly at the Hibs backline, it was clear he needed more support.

That arrived towards the end of the first half and during the interval as Martindale tinkered with his team’s shape, eventually settling on a 3-5-2 with Forrest playing off Nouble. Livi pulled one back shortly after the restart and then the pair combined for the winning goal.

Nouble was brought off with 15 minutes or so to go, replaced by Bruce Anderson – a recurring theme over the last few fixtures, where one has always been substituted for the other. But it is the prospect of the two players lining up side by side that should excite Livingston supporters.

Anderson has quietly been having a very good season at the Tony Macaroni. Tony Watt, who recently completed a move from Fir Park to Tannadice and has received plenty of plaudits as he fired his way to the top of the Premiership scoring charts with nine to his name (at least until this weekend, when Ross County’s Regan Charles-Cook surpassed him), but Anderson isn’t too far behind with seven.

When the 23-year-old left Pittodrie last summer, he did so in search of regular first-team football and an opportunity to establish himself as a proven top-flight striker. He boasts the highest goals per 90 (0.52) for any non-Old Firm player to have played at least 600 minutes in the Premiership this season and even then, he’s giving most of them a run for their money. Only Kyogo Furuhashi (0.72), Kemar Roofe (0.7) and Fashion Sakala (0.53) have found the net more regularly.

Anderson’s xG/90 of 0.24 is significantly lower than his current goalscoring output, which means one of two things. Either he has been over-performing and will eventually regress to the mean as the goals dry up, or Anderson is an especially efficient striker who defies probability.

History would suggest it is the latter. In each of the last two seasons Anderson’s xG/90 and goals/90 have been near identical, suggesting he was simply scoring about as much as could be expected. Anderson’s upturn in front of goal this term is an outlier in an admittedly brief career so far, and time will tell if he can maintain his current scoring streak.

The addition of Nouble will surely be to Anderson’s benefit, just as Anderson’s presence should help to bring out the best in Nouble. The former’s ability to hold up possession and carefully choose his moment before releasing a team-mate is the perfect foil for a player like Anderson who thrives on breaking beyond the last man; the latter, meanwhile, provides the energy and positioning to provide an option for Nouble when driving directly at the defence, as he is wont to do.

It is a budding partnership that we haven’t seen yet but it has all the ingredients to be a lethal combination for the remainder of the season.