Livingston secured their win of the Scottish Premiership season with a narrow 1-0 victory over Dundee United at Tannadice.
Cristian Montano scored the only goal of the game – his
first for the club – early in the second half.
It was a disappointing defeat for the home side, who must now pick themselves up for the second leg of their Europa Conference League third qualifying round tie against AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands on Thursday.
How Livingston secured narrow victory
Before kick-off there was a minute’s applause for United great Finn Dossing, who died in June.
Livingston created the first opening of the game in the fifth minute when Joel Nouble pulled a ball back from the right to Sean Kelly at the edge of the United box but he dragged his low shot wide of home goalkeeper Mark Birighitti’s post.
After that early opportunity, both sides struggled to carve out further openings.
As the half-hour mark approached, there was a glimmer of a chance for the home side as striker Steven Fletcher chased down a long through ball but Livi keeper Shamal George snuffed out the danger.
Fletcher tried his luck again with a speculative long-range shot but his effort flew well wide.
The Lions then made a promising break from inside their own half, with Montano eventually finding space down the left but his shot was off target and both sides headed down the tunnel at the break with the game still goalless.
However, the deadlock was finally broken in the 49th minute.
Nouble hit a shot which Birighitti did well to block but the ball rebounded to Nicky Devlin who teed up Montano and he fired a thunderous 20-yard shot that flew past the keeper and into the back of the net.
United had a chance to make an instant response but Tony Watt’s close-range shot was well saved by George.
The home side continued to press for an equaliser, with skipper Ryan Edwards seeing a shot deflected wide and Fletcher going close shortly after.
Watt was then presented with a clear sight of goal but he could not keep his low shot from 16 yards out on target.
Livi could have doubled their lead in the 69th minute when Nouble played Scott Pittman through on goal but Birighitti did well to snuff out the danger with his feet.
United hit straight back as substitute Mathew Cudjoe struck a superb long-range effort that was tipped over the bar by George.
However, Livi saw the game out to take all three points.
What’s next?
Dundee United travel to the Netherlands for the second leg of their Europa Conference League third qualifying round tie against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday with a 1-0 lead; kick-off 8pm.
Up next for Livingston is a home match against Hibernian next Saturday in the Scottish Premiership; kick-off 3pm.
bet365 sport. To add to the In-Play excitement, bet365 stream over hundreds of events live to your PC every year. So you can bet as the action unfolds. See all upcoming sport events you can bet at bet experts. Highlights include Masters Series Tennis tournaments and matches from some of the top domestic Soccer leagues in the world. To use the Live Streaming service you need to be log in and have a funded account. Or to have place a bet in the last 24 hours. Any fixture/event on bet365 website and bet365 mobile which has the Play or Video icon is schedule to be show via Live Streaming. bet bg
Make your bet365 registration. Enjoy a unique experience with bet365 and bet365 mobile!
Our forecasts for upcoming meetings have been carefully examine and provide in good faith, but with no guaranteed earnings. We advise you to gamble responsibly and only with the money you can afford to lose.
✅ Registration at bet365 | Account verification | Deposit money | Sports Betting | How to bet | Live Betting | Watch Live Stream | Offers, Bonuses and Promotions| Casino | Poker
18+ | Gamble Responsibly | BeGambleAware.org
BET EXPERTS