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Kilmarnock 2-0 Livingston: Greg Stewart double puts Ayrshire side top

By Kenny CrawfordBBC Sport Scotland at Rugby Park

Last updated on .From the section Scottish Premiershipcomments87

Kilmarnock moved to the top Scottish Premiership after Greg Stewart's double earned a comfortable win over Livingston.

Steve Clarke's side are a point clear of both Rangers and Celtic, both of whom dropped points, and now visit Celtic Park on Saturday.

The Rugby Park side have lost just once in 11, and have not conceded in four.

Livingston spurned several chances as they continued their run of not scoring on the road since October.

Dolly Menga made a menace of himself on occasions after returning from a two-match ban but his attempts were unsuccessful.

The only negative for Kilmarnock was the head injury suffered by Kirk Broadfoot, who was carried off on a stretcher having collided with his goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann and been put into the recovery position.

Stewart happy at his work again

His two goals aside, an indication of Stewart's confidence at the moment came in the 30th minute.

A raking ball was sent forward by Greg Taylor and, without a second thought, Stewart killed it in the Livingston box amid a gaggle of defenders. He elected to pass, having already scored a brace.

Stewart is 28 and has previously proved himself at Premiership level with Dundee. It didn't work out at Birmingham or Aberdeen, but this is a striker who is happy at his work again.

The Stirling-born forward is on loan at Rugby Park for the rest of the season from the English Championship side, with his three-year contact expiring in the summer. If Kilmarnock do not try to make his move permanent, there will surely be a long list of interested clubs north of the border.

Stewart's sixth and seventh goals of the season were markedly different, the first a glancing header and the second a deadly shot to the far corner after waiting for the correct moment.

Kilmarnock had Livingston rattled in the first half, but Menga's effort - well saved by Bachmann - was all they had to show for it.

Declan Gallagher's header from an Alan Lithgow long throw in the second half, and Steven Lawless' effort from distance, nearly brought Livingston back into it, but before long it was back to the Stewart show.

He hassled defenders to set up Burke to curl over, then another of Stewart's snaking runs drew a piggy-back attempt from Scott Pittman, who was booked for his troubles.

Kirk Broadfoot was taken off on a stretcher after suffering a head knock
Kirk Broadfoot was taken off on a stretcher after suffering a head knock

'Unlikely but deserved leaders' - analysis

One league defeat in their last 11 matches. Four clean-sheets in a row. Five goals in their last two games. Top of the league by a point. All the statistics point to one thing - Kilmarnock are absolutely flying.

It seemed very unlikely that Clarke's men would end the night at the summit of the Premiership, needing both Rangers and Celtic to slip up, yet it happened.

Livingston were not particularly bad, and boss Gary Holt's main encouragement will be the sight of Ryan Hardie on the pitch again. The on-loan Rangers striker came on as a substitute after a long spell out.

'Stewart took a gamble' - reaction

Kilmarnock manager Steve Clarke: "Greg has been really good for us. He probably took a gamble coming back to Scotland but if works out well for Greg and for Kilmarnock then everyone can be happy."

Livingston manager Gary Holt: "I picked the team to give boys a chance and I'll take it on the chin. We never got going and lost a really poor goal from a set play and the second comes from our free kick."

Line-ups

Kilmarnock

Formation 4-4-2

  • 26Bachmann
  • 2O'Donnell
  • 5BroadfootSubstituted forTshibolaat 51'minutes
  • 16Boyd
  • 3Taylor
  • 29Burke
  • 6Power
  • 8Dicker
  • 11Jones
  • 25BrophySubstituted forWilsonat 67'minutes
  • 19StewartSubstituted forNdjoliat 87'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1MacDonald
  • 7McKenzie
  • 9Boyd
  • 12Ndjoli
  • 18Waters
  • 20Wilson
  • 27Tshibola

Livingston

Formation 3-5-1-1

  • 1Kelly
  • 31Gallagher
  • 26Halkett
  • 4Lithgow
  • 11CaddenSubstituted forHardieat 63'minutes
  • 8PittmanBooked at 71mins
  • 6ByrneBooked at 39mins
  • 15Lawless
  • 3Lamie
  • 33LawsonSubstituted forSibbaldat 38'minutes
  • 45MengaSubstituted forBurnsat 72'minutes

Substitutes

  • 2McMillan
  • 7Jacobs
  • 9Hardie
  • 10Sibbald
  • 19Burns
  • 21Stewart
  • 30Hamilton
Referee:
Bobby Madden
Attendance:
4,143

Match Stats

Home TeamKilmarnockAway TeamLivingston
Possession
Home55%
Away45%
Shots
Home10
Away9
Shots on Target
Home4
Away4
Corners
Home6
Away3
Fouls
Home9
Away15

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Kilmarnock 2, Livingston 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Kilmarnock 2, Livingston 0.

  3. Post update

    Chris Burke (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  4. Post update

    Foul by Bobby Burns (Livingston).

  5. Post update

    Scott Boyd (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  6. Post update

    Foul by Scott Pittman (Livingston).

  7. Post update

    Attempt missed. Aaron Tshibola (Kilmarnock) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.

  8. Post update

    Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Steven Lawless (Livingston).

  10. Post update

    Attempt missed. Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right following a fast break.

  11. Substitution

    Substitution, Kilmarnock. Mikael Ndjoli replaces Greg Stewart.

  12. Post update

    Attempt missed. Ryan Hardie (Livingston) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.

  13. Post update

    Alan Power (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  14. Post update

    Foul by Craig Sibbald (Livingston).

  15. Post update

    Chris Burke (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  16. Post update

    Foul by Ricki Lamie (Livingston).

  17. Post update

    Craig Halkett (Livingston) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Greg Stewart (Kilmarnock).

  19. Post update

    Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  20. Post update

    Foul by Declan Gallagher (Livingston).

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87 comments

  • Comment posted by Red83, at 00:00 6 Dec 2018

    Another Aberdeen fan here ! well done Killie keep it going ..the more teams outside the OF pushing the better ..

  • Comment posted by User0294215405, at 23:51 5 Dec 2018

    Well done Killie, what a great coach

  • Comment posted by Aaron67, at 01:42 6 Dec 2018

    What a great job Steve Clarke has done at Kilmarnock. This season has been really exciting, long may it continue.

  • Comment posted by Abody hates chelmsford, at 07:11 6 Dec 2018

    Clarke and Killie showing hard work, passion and commitment can go a long way to competing against the wealthy and the big spenders which aren't necessarily the same! Well done to the Mighty Dons for bouncing back from the disappointment of Sunday's cup final loss and yet another honest mistake at ibrox.

    @21 Proof and readers unfamiliar concepts at the bbc.

  • Comment posted by D1710530087993, at 23:55 5 Dec 2018

    Aberdeen fan here. Well done Killie. It would be good too see 10,000 gates, your team and manager deserve it. I hope You are able too do a Leicester City, Celtic seem to have adopted a sense of arrogance lately. Especially a couple of the defenders. Would be brill to see someone out with the gruesome twosome winning.

  • Comment posted by SHEEP ARE ON FIRE, at 09:25 6 Dec 2018

    Well done Killie. Amazing story and being top in December is some achievement

    I was at Ibrox last night supporting AFC, I've been 25-times before & never seen us win there

    The usual red card for what was a foul to us, Lafferty avoiding a red etc wasn't enough to take a deserved win away. The team really were outstanding

    Rangers fans leaving from the 73rd min- now that is loyalty! COYR

  • Comment posted by stringerbell, at 00:07 6 Dec 2018

    Clarke's Barmy Army. Love this guy!!!

  • Comment posted by Craigpe1, at 00:06 6 Dec 2018

    Well done a Killie!

    Great to see the bigoted Ugly Sisters both dropping points tonight.

  • Comment posted by Mr_Original38, at 00:11 6 Dec 2018

    Chipbutty - Pipe down, you're boring everyone.

    Let's all just enjoy the fact that the Mighty Killie are top of the league!

  • Comment posted by Nick C, at 12:59 6 Dec 2018

    Celtic fans are hilarious. They haven't beaten Killie in over a year but their sense of entitlement forces them to come on and belittle a wee club's achievement.

  • Comment posted by killiefan, at 07:05 6 Dec 2018

    Killie are there because of their results, not because of other teams results. Fair play, give them their due praise. They deserve it. I doubt Killie fans would be celebrating going top the way some others have. As Killie fan you must retain a sense of perspective.

  • Comment posted by greengrass, at 00:27 6 Dec 2018

    Steve Clarke has done an amazing job with killie. What a manager!

    It will be interesting to see if his team celebrated as if they won a cup at full time...

  • Comment posted by Scotbrit, at 11:51 6 Dec 2018

    To ticforlife, I say this HYS is about Kilmarnock and whatever tripe you wish to post is not welcome. Just be mindful we are in December so the Killie situation is not a beginning of the season 3 or 4 game wonder, they have built this team starting last season with some tweaks this season. Perhaps there are a few people GREEN with envy whose team have spent grossly more than Killies of our world?

  • Comment posted by U16650765, at 06:32 6 Dec 2018

    Mon Ewes !

    Lengthy ban for the Colombian methinks.

  • Comment posted by User0125605879, at 07:45 6 Dec 2018

    Well done Kilmarnock.

    I don't care who wins the league as long as it's not Celtic or The Rangers.

    Who Aberdeen beat rather easily last night despite Stevie G saying they were a 'class above' after the first game. Perhaps he will now admit they are several classes below as they always have been.

  • Comment posted by Toto, at 10:09 6 Dec 2018

    Wonderful that Killie have gone top.......
    But why is there an article on whether Morelos should have been sent off?
    What about The Dons player who got his marching orders after only 30 mins gone when he won the ball fairly?
    I'm sick to the teeth of the bias covering the weegie mafia clubs.

  • Comment posted by Lasagne295, at 06:51 6 Dec 2018

    Well done Killie!! Top! Anyone but the auld firm top suits me fine!

  • Comment posted by User0888795663, at 08:40 6 Dec 2018

    Anyway , sorry I forgot to say nice one Kimarnock 👍

  • Comment posted by Allybally, at 00:22 6 Dec 2018

    4000 midweek is getting better chipbutty that’s what it is. When we first got promoted again we averaged 9000 and if we keep this up our crowds will 100% get better. Watch this space.

  • Comment posted by jamie, at 08:42 6 Dec 2018

    As a killie fan i totally agree with @31 the better our teams do in europe the more plqces we get, simple logic, i root for all scottish teams in europe as it raises the profile and helps generate much needed money for clubs to improve further