Wilson shows Livingston way to hit top form

LIVINGSTON 2-0 AYr United After this win over the team fancied to be their main rivals for the title, the table-topping Livvy Lions must be smelling blood.

In theory second-placed Ayr were never actually out of it; after all, just one goal at any stage would have put them in with a shout of returning west with something to show for their afternoon in West Lothian.

But somehow it just didn't seem likely. Forget the theory: rarely can there have been a more convincing 2-0 win. Livingston played some breathtaking football - summed up by a couple of stunning goals.

And their effort matched their skill, as Livingston manager Jim Leishman acknowledged: "They're working hard to make me look a half decent manager."

Gordon Dalziel, the defeated manager, was, meanwhile, quick to point to his own sides deficiencies: "We didn't play well, we didn't pass well. It was a bad day for us." Certainly it wasn't helped by injury woes, with captain John Hughes limping off after 30 minutes, but the overriding impression was that Livingston had been exceptional, not that Ayr had played badly.

Livingston are going places, no question. The club song says it all, not so neatly rhyming Livingston with Premier Division.

And if they keep playing like this then it's likely they'll need to compose a new club song as early as next summer. The tone for yesterday's match was set in six minutes when, after an effort by Brian McPhee was deflected, the ball rolled out to Barry Wilson, lurking just outside the box. A clean strike promptly delivered the ball from whence it came and in it went, over Ayr keeper Marius Rovde's head and off the underside of the crossbar.

Ayr, Ayr super Ayr responded the impressively sizeable and vociferous away support, but it was difficult to concur.

Every Livingston attack, more often than not led by the energetic McPhee, looked threatening, while Ayr's efforts typically ended with misplaced passes or interceptions, in roughly equal measures.

McPhee summed up the home effort. He was inspired. That the Ayr fans took to booing his every touch is surely a testament to his effectiveness during a game in which he reduced former Hibs man Paul Lovering to thumping the turf in frustration.

Another inspirational figure was the little midfielder, David Bingham, with his goal, just four minutes after the restart, later hailed by Leishman as "world class". That might sound improbable but the manner in which Bingham took on and beat three Ayr defenders before placing the ball into the net was one of those breathtaking moments.

Ayr's troubles were completed with Glynn Hurst's dismissal for a tackle on Wilson and subsequent involvement in a 14-man scrum.

Leishman wasn't impressed: "A 14-man scrum and not a single punch thrown," he commented with mock indignation. "Not like the old days."

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