Arbroath picked up their first home win of the season with Gavin Reilly’s second half penalty enough to see off Livingston on Saturday afternoon.
The Lichties’ forward led the line impressively and was rewarded with the only goal in a 1-0 win from the spot after being fouled by Ryan McGowan.
It was a match that was played at a high tempo right from the off with Arbroath passing up a guilt edged chance to open the scoring inside the opening 60 seconds. Scott Stewart robbed Besir Iseni of possession high up the pitch and raced in on goal, but he could only drag his shot wide of the far post.
Livi reacted well though and were only denied by a goal line clearance from Tam O’Brien after the ball was forced goalwards by Bruce Anderson following a massive stramash in the Lichties’ box.
Robbie Muirhead took aim with a volley that was far too high to trouble Aidan McAdams, before O’Brien’s header at the other end was easily held by Jerome Prior as the game continued to sway from end to end, before tipping in Arbroath’s favour just before half time.
Cammy MacPherson had been booked in the opening minute for a foul in the lead up to Stewart’s chance, but it was a straight red he was shown at the end of the opening 45 when he got caught on the wrong side of Jude Bonnar before hauling the Celtic loanee to the floor.
Bonnar’s resultant free kick led to nothing, but the man advantage certainly provided a boost to the home side and supporters heading into the half time interval.
Indeed, just three minutes after the restart, Arbroath made it count as they were awarded a penalty. Stewart’s ball across the box found Reilly who was able to get there before being tripped by McGowan, with referee Colin Steven left with no option but to point to the spot.
Reilly himself stepped up to fire a powerful effort low to Prior’s right that despite the keeper getting a touch to, simply had too much and found its way into the net.
Jack Wilkie came off the bench for Livingston on his return to Gayfield after leaving the club in the summer, and he almost made an immediate impact with a cross right onto the head of Anderson, with the forward just unable to divert it on target.
Anderson was one of few players that looked to provide any real threat for Livi, although his claims for a penalty after going down under pressure from Charlie Dewar were correctly waved away by the referee.
Livi did receive a lifeline when the teams were evened up again four minutes from time as Scott Constable was given his marching orders. The on-loan Dundee United man was booked five minutes earlier for pulling the shirt of Tyrese Sinclair and once again brought the Livi winger down on the edge of the box to earn his second yellow card in quick succession.
The Lions couldn’t find a way past a resolute Arbroath defence though as the Lichties fought their way to a deserved three points that they’ll look to build on when Dunfermline visit next weekend.
Arbroath: McAdams; Watson, Dewar, O’Brien, Mackie (Paterson, 76’); Constable, Flynn; Stewart, Bonnar (McKenna, 79’), Dow; Reilly (Winter, 76’)
Livingston: Prior; Kerr (Doherty, 69’), Kabongolo, Iseni (McGowan, 46’), Montgomery (Wilkie, 55’); Pittman, MacPherson, May (Danso, 46’); Muirhead, Anderson, Van Hoeven (Sinclair, 69’)
Attendance: 1,624 (381 away)
