St Mirren suffered a damaging 2-0 defeat to Livingston as the visitors ended their long wait for a Scottish Premiership win.
After last weekend’s disappointing defeat at Hampden, Saints returned to league duty looking for three points against a Livingston side who had not won a league match since August.
St Mirren created several chances in the first half, with Johan Ayunga, Declan John, Richard King, Killian Phillips and Mikael Mandron all testing Livingston goalkeeper Jerome Prior.
Prior produced a string of fine saves to keep the match goalless at half-time.
Saints continued to push for the breakthrough after the break but could not find a way through.
Livingston then made the breakthrough in the 67th minute. Robbie Muirhead fired the ball across the face of goal and it struck Alex Gogic before ending up in the net.
St Mirren pressed for an equaliser, but Livingston struck again with nine minutes remaining.
The visitors broke up the park and Scott Pittman finished to make it 2-0 and seal just their second league win of the season.
The result keeps Livingston’s slim hopes of survival alive, while St Mirren remain just two points above the relegation play-off place.
St Mirren now have four games left to avoid finishing 11th and being dragged into the end-of-season play-offs.
Saints host Dundee next Saturday at 3pm, while Livingston welcome Aberdeen on Friday night at 7.45pm.
Results
| Saturday 25th April | ||
| Aberdeen | 1-0 | Kilmarnock |
| St Mirren | 0-2 | Livingston |
| Celtic | 3-1 | Falkirk |
| Sunday 26th April | ||
| Dundee United | 3-0 | Dundee |
| Rangers | 2-3 | Motherwell |
| Hibernian | 1-2 | Hearts |
Fixtures
| Friday 1st May | ||
| Livingston | 7.45pm | Aberdeen |
| Saturday 2nd May | ||
| Dundee | 3pm | St Mirren |
| Kilmarnock | 3pm | Dundee United |
| Falkirk | 3pm | Motherwell |
| Sunday 3rd May | ||
| Hibernian | 12pm | Celtic |
| Monday 4th May | ||
| Hearts | 5.30pm | Rangers |
Scottish Premiership table
Championship Group
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hearts | 34 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 31 | 73 |
| 2 | Celtic | 34 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 26 | 70 |
| 3 | Rangers | 34 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 34 | 69 |
| 4 | Motherwell | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 24 | 57 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 51 |
| 6 | Falkirk | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | -5 | 46 |
Relegation Group
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dundee United | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | -6 | 43 |
| 2 | Aberdeen | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | -14 | 36 |
| 3 | Dundee | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | -22 | 33 |
| 4 | St Mirren | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | -23 | 30 |
| 5 | Kilmarnock | 34 | 6 | 10 | 18 | -29 | 28 |
| 6 | Livingston | 34 | 2 | 13 | 19 | -29 | 19 |
Photo: Johan Ayunga has a shot at goal
Photo Credit: Hugh McMIllan / Renfrewshire News
Photo: Declan John has his shot stopped by Jerome Prior
Photo Credit: Hugh McMIllan / Renfrewshire News
Photo: Jerome Prior saves Richard King’s shot
Photo Credit: Hugh McMIllan / Renfrewshire News
Photo: Mikael Mandron on the ball
Photo Credit: Hugh McMIllan / Renfrewshire News
Photo: Johan Ayunga and Danny Wilson in a race for the ball
Photo Credit: Hugh McMIllan / Renfrewshire News