Kilmarnock vs Livingston. Scottish Premiership.
The BBSP Stadium, Rugby ParkAttendance4,679.
Report as Kilmarnock earn 3-1 win over Livingston in the Scottish Premiership; Danny Armstrong scores opener for hosts but sees goal cancelled out by Sean Kelly's penalty; Kyle Vassell puts Killie back in front before half-time with header and then nets another in second half
Saturday 21 October 2023 18:43, UK
A double from Kyle Vassell helped Kilmarnock ease past Livingston with a 3-1 win to move into the top half.
The Killie captain scored with clever headers either side of the half-time interval after Sean Kelly's penalty for Livi had cancelled out Danny Armstrong's opener.
The victory sees Derek McInnes' side move above their opponents on goal difference into fifth place, while Livingston remain in seventh.
Kilmarnock made two changes from the team beaten by Celtic last time out. In came Liam Polworth and Marley Watkins, with Robbie Deas and Matty Kennedy making way.
Livingston also made two changes after their win over Motherwell. Michael Devlin and Mo Sangare made the starting line-up at the expense of Ayo Obileye and Stephen Kelly.
The home side took the lead with the first real chance of the game after 16 minutes. Corrie Ndaba's cross was completely missed by David Watson but rolled kindly through to Armstrong who lashed a shot past Shamal George.
Livingston appealed for a penalty following Ndaba's challenge on Daniel MacKay but neither referee Craig Napier nor VAR Greg Aitken were moved into taking action.
Killie went straight up the park and George did well to push away Armstrong's goalbound drive, before Polworth's effort was deflected for a corner as the home side looked to press home their superiority.
Livingston, though, did get a penalty after 34 minutes. Brad Lyons connected with Sangare as he tried to make a clearance and Kelly sent Will Dennis the wrong way from the spot to draw his team level.
A melee then broke out involving around 10 players following an incident between Devlin and Watson. After a delay, both players were booked.
The home side moved back in front three minutes before half-time. Armstrong dispatched an enticing free kick from wide on the right and Vassell was able to steer a header beyond George and into the far corner.
Kilmarnock looked to add to their lead early after the restart but Lyons' shot was wayward, while Polworth's effort was easily saved by George.
A third goal for the home side, though, duly arrived just shy of the hour mark and Vassell was again the scorer.
Mere moments after striking the crossbar, the Kilmarnock captain met a Watson cross and this time made no mistake with his header.
Lloyd sent a free kick just wide for Livingston late on but the home side held firm to coast to just their second league win of the season.
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "We needed to win. There was no getting away from that. I can sit here and go on about the positives - and there were some in the (other) performances.
"We have been good in isolated games and these teams - Hearts, St Mirren, Hibs - they are good sides. These are not gimmes. So there were a lot of games in this run we've done OK in - but I didn't enjoy looking at the league table.
"Obviously we knew we could go fifth today and, while you don't want to get too obsessed with the table when you've not played a quarter of the games, I like where we are sitting now. Let's see if we can hang about there as long as we can.
"We just needed to win. We spoke about it during the weeks as it's hard to keep being positive when the wins were not coming.
"Today we ran hard, worked extremely hard all over the pitch and the physicality of the team was strong. That was really important."
Livingston boss David Martindale: "Take the scoreline away, the game went the way we thought it would, with set-plays playing a large part of the game.
"The first goal we should deal with a lot better down our right-hand side, although they did get a wee bit fortunate with a deflection.
"Kilmarnock had dominated us. Then we get the penalty and get back in the game but we get a kick in the stomach with their second goal.
"Our defensive line is terrible, Vassell gets a free header and is unmarked in our box going for a free-kick from a wide area.
"Our shape wasn't great and in the one-against-one duels we got bullied a wee bit. Kilmarnock won more of their aerial duels and won more second balls than us."
Kilmarnock host Aberdeen on Sunday October 29 in the Scottish Premiership, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 12pm.
Livingston are at home to Dundee on Saturday October 28, kick-off 3pm.
