Aberdeen 0-2 Livingston: Livi get first Pittodrie win since 2004

Livingston manager David Martindale says their first win at Aberdeen since 2004 is one of his "proudest moments".

The visitors led after Joe Lewis fumbled Julien Serrano's cross into his own net in the Premiership match, Nicky Devlin's header coming soon after.

Lewis Ferguson's shot off the crossbar almost offered a lifeline for the hosts, but the ball was ruled not to have crossed the line.

The victory stretches Livingston's unbeaten run to 14 games.

"I thought the boys were brilliant, I was really proud of them tonight, they were absolutely fantastic," Martindale said.

"Our aspirations are definitely top six. With a wee bit of luck, and injury-free and suspension-free, who knows what can happen. But it shows how far we've come as a club."

• Reaction & as it happened

Much of the build-up focused on Aberdeen's search for a striker. Derek McInnes' side had not scored in their previous two matches, while Sam Cosgrove and Curtis Main both left the club on deadline day.

They ended up bringing in three. Florian Kamberi, Callum Hendry and Fraser Hornby all joined, with Hornby making his debut from the start following his loan from Stade de Reims.

It was the defensive side of things that proved to be the problem for the Dons in the opening stages, however.

Serrano's delivery into the box after seven minutes did take a deflection, but Lewis should have dealt with it comfortably. Instead, the goalkeeper rushed to his front post and somehow fumbled the ball into his own net while under very little pressure.

Less than 10 minutes later it was two. Captain Lewis once again failed to gather a cross, with the ball eventually falling to Josh Mullin on the right-hand side. The midfielder produced an outstanding delivery into the middle of the penalty area where Devlin found himself in acres of space and headed the ball in.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas nearly made it three before the half hour mark as his low, driven effort flashed narrowly wide of the far post, before Lewis flapped at a set-piece and allowed Aaron Taylor-Sinclair an opportunity, but his effort from the edge of the box was blocked.

It was a very disappointing first half for the hosts, who lost Ryan Hedges and Ash Taylor to injury.

Aberdeen thought they had found a way back into the game after the break as Ferguson's deflected strike hit the underside of the bar and looked to have bounced over the line before rebounding back out. The officials, however, decided that it had not fully crossed the line and waved play on.

Ferguson then called Max Stryjek into action with another effort from outside the box, but the Livingston goalkeeper parried the shot away from danger.

Livingston weathered the mild storm, and Scott Pittman almost added a third with a placed effort from 18 yards out that rebounded off the post.

Man of the match - Steve Lawson

Steve Lawson dominated the midfield for the visitors, a superb display from the Togo international

What did we learn?

It's tough to know where to start with Aberdeen. While the individual errors of Lewis cost them dearly, their overall performance left plenty to be desired.

They were up against a team who embodied what the Aberdeen fans are desperate to see in their own team. Heart and desire, a team that are difficult to beat and also have a clinical edge.

It will take time for Aberdeen's new signings to get to grips with things, but for now it's all looking a bit bleak.

Livingston, meanwhile, are in dreamland. They must be looking at the five-point gap to Aberdeen in fourth place and thinking that they can make light work of it.

They made four changes to their team for this game amid a brutal fixture schedule, and the drop-off in quality was non-existent. Every player worked hard and played their part, as we have come to expect with Martindale's side.

Will this bubble ever burst? They look unbeatable at the moment.

What they said

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes: "The first goal totally changes the complexion of the game, it's such a poor goal to lose - another mistake.

"We should get a goal - the ball was clearly over the line. That goal would have been very important to us, but the first half performance did us in."

Livingston manager David Martindale: "I don't think Joe [Lewis] had a lot to do, the conditions didn't lend itself to playing pretty football at times. We got a quick two goals and the dynamic of the game changed."

What next?

Aberdeen visit Hibernian on Saturday (15:00 GMT) as the battle for European football continues. Livingston host St Johnstone at the same time, with one eye fixed on proceedings at Easter Road.