Bruce Anderson's double earned Livingston their first Scottish Premiership win since early November with a 2-0 victory at bottom side Ross County.

The 24-year-old's quickfire second-half double, which came just as the Staggies were building momentum, settled a game of few goal-scoring opportunities and sent Livingston up to fifth.

Visiting goalkeeper Shamal George barely had a save to make in an uneventful first half, while opposite number Ross Laidlaw was also rarely tested.

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One effort from Sean Kelly did sting the palms of the County 'keeper, while Livingston were also denied by the offside flag - a nice turn from Anderson sent Andrew Shinnie through and, although he found the net, VAR confirmed the goal was correctly disallowed.

County had a golden chance to take the lead in the opening minutes of the second half when Jordan Tillson played in Ross Callachan, who had time to pick his spot but shot straight at George.

The hosts had another opportunity on the hour mark when Owura Edwards picked out Jordy Hiwula, who smartly flicked the ball into the path of David Cancola, only for the Austrian midfielder to miss the target.

That marked a sustained spell of pressure for the Staggies but two goals in four minutes from Anderson swung the game the other way.

First, he turned in Steven Bradley's cross from close range before picking out the bottom corner for his second, each time leaving Laidlaw with no chance.

Those strikes took the sting out of the hosts and it seemed as though David Martindale's men would coast to victory from there.

There was one final twist though, as Jordan White thought he had pulled a goal back with 10 minutes left, only for VAR to rule Callachan offside in the build-up.

Martindale: Anderson was the difference

Livingston boss David Martindale admitted his side were indebted to Anderson, saying: "Really the only difference in the game was Bruce Anderson's finishing.

"Let's be honest, Ross County had a couple of chances they should have taken. They hit one at our goalkeeper with no real power and another where Cancola chops but doesn't hit the target.

"Wee Brucie in contrast had three chances - one was a really good save by Ross Laidlaw late on, but he sticks two away. For me, that was the only real difference in the game.

"Wee Brucie's season last year started late October, early November in terms of getting him to where I wanted him to be. He came back in a wee bit off it this season but now I can see Brucie again. I can see why I signed Brucie over the last two or three games.

"He's the best finisher at the club in terms of instinct. He's that type - he instinctively knows where to be. It's a natural habit honed within Bruce over the years.

"He's a fantastic finisher and he takes his two goals incredibly well."

Bartley to become Queen of the South boss

Livingston announced after the match that Marvin Bartley, their assistant manager and former captain, is leaving the club to become the Queen of the South manager.

Martindale said: "I have a mixture of emotions in terms of feeling both delighted for Marvin but sad that we're losing him from the football club.

"He has been with us for four seasons now and hand on heart I can say he is genuinely a fantastic person and has a huge future in the world of football management.

"I'm losing a friend on a day-to-day basis and a huge part of what we do at Livingston, but I am delighted for him at the same time.

"He will always be welcome back and goes with everyone's best wishes."

Mackay on goals conceded: People didn't do their jobs properly

Ross County boss Malky Mackay put the goals his side conceded down to individual errors, and had no complaints at seeing White's late effort ruled out for offside.

"It was people not doing their jobs properly," said Mackay of the goals his side conceded. "We know that and that's something we'll look at - individuals making decisions.

"Even then, I thought with 15 minutes to go including added time, we score and we can keep pushing.

"I'm not crying about it, clearly the goal was offside and VAR saw that, but I had a wry smile to myself because we had the exact same at Dundee United where we were a hair's breadth away from scoring and getting back into the game.

"We have to pick ourselves up and go again."

What's next?

Ross County's next game is away to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday - kick-off 3pm.

Livingston's next outing is away to St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, with kick-off again at 3pm.

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