Livingston 2-0 Hibernian: Jon Guthrie brace earns win for Gary Holt's side

Livingston will finish the year above Hibernian in fifth place in the Scottish Premiership after a brace from centre-back Jon Guthrie gave his side a 2-0 win at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

After an uneventful first half, Gary Holt's side thrived after the break, Guthrie's scrambled effort putting them in front before he headed in a second.

As for Hibs, the defeat means they fall further behind in their quest for European football, as they will go into the second half of the season 11 points behind fourth place.

• Reaction & as it happened

Guthrie calms frantic contest

Leading the line for Livingston was the increasingly impressive Lyndon Dykes, still purring from his recent hat-trick against Ross County, and who was born in Australia's Gold Coast yet is eager to represent Scotland in the Euro 2020 play-offs.

Then, in the Hibs forward three was the buoyant Edinburgh derby hero Martin Boyle, who names Aberdeen as his place of birth yet is now a quick and dependable figure for the Australian national team.

In a frantic opening 20 minutes, both had chances, as Boyle's now trademark pace and superglue first touch presented him with a chance to test Matija Sarkic, only to deliver a tame shot.

At the the other end, the rangy Dykes panicked Darren McGregor enough to forge a half chance which was also hit too weakly.

The early 100mph match-speed soon reduced and towards the end of the first-half it was Livingston's right-back Steve Lawson who fashioned an unexpected opportunity to keep Ofir Marciano's palms warm.

Hibs started the second half to the sound of an almighty roar from the away fans, who were taking up almost half of the stadium. There were 3,412 Hibees in the attendance of 4,902.

It looked to have roused the visitors as Boyle was denied, and shortly a less likely scorer would be telling Boyle and Dykes to step aside.

Guthrie's opener definitely won't win any awards. When Craig Sibbald's corner dropped into the six yard box there were a cluster of yellow shirts and green shirts all desperately trying to get the crucial boot on the ball to either score or clear, and we trust it was the Englishman's who had the final say.

The beanpole defender had a much cleaner second 15 minutes later. This time the dynamic Lawson delivered a brilliant cross in from the right and Guthrie headed his fifth goal of the season into the bottom right-hand corner.

Man of the match - Jon Guthrie

It would be criminal not to give it to a defender who has scored the only two goals in a match.

Incredibly, the former Walsall man has four goals in his last five games. His first was ugly yet important, and his second was skilful and well-timed.

Guthrie also has a clean sheet to gloat about, making it a very Happy New Year indeed for him and Livingston, who head to La Manga for some warm weather training and a friendly against Anderlecht.

'We were a long way short' - reaction

Livingston manager Gary Holt: "We told the players to be brave. On Thursday we were passive at times, but today to a man we were excellent.

"We were willing to make things happen and it was a well justified win."

Hibernian head coach Jack Ross: "There have been a lot of positive displays over the last eight weeks but there have been one or two disappointing days and today was one of them.

"One we can't accept, that has to be clear. We were a long way short of being good enough to win the game."