Despite going down to 10 men Ayr United were able to overcome the Livingston attack and take all three points back to Ayrshire.
Livingston came into this one off the back of a 2-0 win away at current second placed Raith Rovers and sat third with a sharp upturn in results since David Martindale stepped back into the managerial role after the sacking of Glenn Whelan.
Ayr have had a frustrating start to the season with just eight points from eight games and lost their last game coming into this one after a 1-0 loss at home to early run away leaders Stenhousemuir.
Livingston started with the same 11 that started against Raith as they looked to continue their winning ways and put a smile on the home fans’ faces.
Ayr made three changes to the team that lost that game against Stenhousemuir as Ben Summers, Josh Landers and Thomas Hatton were replaced by Liam Dick, Kevin Holt and Owen Stirton.
First shot of the game came six minutes in after a short corner was worked well by Livingston which ended in a Tyrese Sinclair shot, but it was a fairly easy stop for Ayr keeper Harry Stone.
The visitors would take the lead after a through ball played through Ross Taylor, he managed to dribble past Ryan McGowan and get the ball to Owen Stirton and his shot was well placed into the corner despite Livingston’s protests that Taylor was offside, the goal stood as Douglas Ross kept his flag down.
Livingston kept their pressure despite going one down as another corner this time was met at the back post by Brooklyn Kabongolo but his header went over the bar as Livi looked for a way back in.
Livingston would receive a penalty for handball as we got to the twentieth minute mark and it was expertly taken by Robbie Muirhead as he got Livi back on level terms.
The game got very heated just two minutes later when Ross Taylor was sent off for late challenge of Montano, there was a bit of afters between the players which resulted in a Luke McBeth yellow card as well as Ayr now had to contend with being a man down.
Ayr managed to get a free kick that was launched into the area which Livi failed to clear, it fell to McBeth who struck well into the corner and the 10 men got themselves back in front in this eye-catching game with just under 10 minutes to go to half time.
As a very entertaining half of football came to a close, Livingston would have been scratching their heads as to how they were losing this game with David Martindale now having some work to do to get back into this one.
The second half started slowly but it was Livingston who fashioned the first real chance as the ball fell to the left foot of Robbie Muirhead but it went high over the bar and was no issue for Stone in the Ayr goal.
Montano had another shot from a cross that fell to him at the back post from Graham Carey right footed cross but again the ball flew over the Ayr United crossbar.
Cammy Palmer had his shot blocked off the line by Liam Dick when Stone had failed to deal with the ball, Kevin Holt then blocked one straight after by Muirhead.
Just a minute later Jordan Doherty had a curling shot that went just wide of the far post as Livi piled on more pressure on 10 man Ayr.
This time it was Bradly van Hoeven who had another shot blocked as three Ayr defenders threw themselves at the ball after it bobbled around their area as they failed to clear their lines once again with 25 minutes to go.
As we headed towards the final 15 minutes a cross from the left hand side for Livingston was headed over by close range by Doherty as they continued to knock on the Ayr United door.
A free kick for Livingston just two minutes later was taken by substitute Stevie May and his cross found Kabongolo and his header drifted just inches wide of the post as Stone was scrambling across the goal.
Substitute Liam Polworth had yet another shot blocked by Kevin Holt as he seemed to be camped on the goal line whenever Livingston got near the Ayr penalty area as he kept his side’s lead intact.
Kabongolo found himself winning a header at the back post again but the goalkeeper was on hand to catch the ball as Ayr were extremely close to seeing things out as we entered added on time.
The game came to an end with Ayr defending brilliantly to hold on to their lead and despite being down to 10 men for 68 minutes they take the win and get a crucial three points for Gary Naysmith and his side.
Livingston next face Partick Thistle back here next Saturday 10th October in a game they will feel they need to win against another team vying to get promoted.
Ayr also face a home game next week against Dunfermline as they will be looking to build on this result and kickstart their season.
Livingston
Jerome Prior, Ryan McGowan, Tyrese Sinclair (Graham Carey 46), Scott Pittman (Aidan Denholm 80), Robbie Muirhead, Cammy Palmer (Bruce Anderson 62), Bradly van Hoeven (Liam Polworth 80), Emmanuel Danso (Stevie May 74), Jordan Doherty, Brooklyn Kabongolo, Cristian Montano.
Ayr United
Harry Stone, Liam Dick, Kevin Holt, Reese Lyon (Nicholas McAllister 70), Owen Stirton (Kieran Shanks 70), Leon King, Ross Taylor (sent off 22), Oliver Whyte, Luke McBeth, Dylan Watret, Scott McMann.
