Partick Thistle 2-3 Livingston: Livi net 119th minute winner to knock out Thistle

Livingston win tie in final minute of extra time

By Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

Livingston crowned a memorable comeback with a 120th-minute winner to knock out Partick Thistle and secure a place in the Scottish Cup last eight.

Kerr McInroy's 30-yard thunderbolt and a powerful Aidan Fitzpatrick effort gave second-tier Thistle a seemingly comfortable cushion with under half an hour left.

But Joel Nouble's double, a tap-in and then a toe-poke, brought the visitors level to force extra time before Tete Yengi's header gave the Premiership bottom side a dramatic win.

Livingston will feature in Sunday's quarter-final draw live on BBC One Scotland's Sportscene (16:30 GMT).

Livingston's only win since October came in the Scottish Cup against Raith and provided respite from their wretched league form.

They started well, but it was Thistle who opened the scoring just shy of the half-hour mark. Thirty yards out, McInroy was invited to shoot by the Livingston defence and he swiftly rocketed his shot into the bottom corner.

Things got worse for Livingston as they lost Scott Pittman and Shaun Donnellan to injury before half-time, but the changes worked and they had the ball in the net.

The celebrations after Yengi's header were short-lived, though, as referee Nick Walsh blew for a foul in the build-up.

Thistle made the most of that reprieve when Fitzpatrick scored the second just after the hour. Skipping on to his right, the winger powered in a shot that goalkeeper Michael McGovern could not hold.

Livingston weren't dead yet. A brilliant corner from the left found the head of Ayo Obileye, and when Jamie Sneddon saved the initial header, Nouble was on hand to tap in.

Thistle were shaken, Livingston were stirred. They pounded on the door looking for an equaliser, and it came when Nouble got the ball deep in the Thistle box and toe-poked into the top corner.

There was a chance for Thistle to win it in the 90 minutes when Tomi Adeloye sent a dipping, curling shot at goal but it smacked the upright.

Livingston kicked on in extra time, but Jamie Sneddon produced a few fine stops to keep the scores level and set himself up to be the cup hero.

Instead, it would be Yengi. The big Australian met a cross from the right with a glancing header that bounced in off the back post for a moment he will never forget.

Player of the match - Joel Nouble

Ewan Bootman - SNS Group

Back to the Nouble of old, he had the Thistle defence on toast. Yengi posed a similar problem and deserved the winner

What they said

Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan: "I'm gutted. We put so much into it, but to be 2-0 up and lose is tough. We pushed them the full way. I take responsibility, I made two subs quickly, took off two key players. Maybe they should have stayed on the pitch.

"We caused them problems, but we just couldn't deal with their physicality at the end of the game. It's heartbreaking when it comes down the last 20 seconds and you lose a goal, but there are positives to take."

Livingston boss David Martindale: "I thought it was a good game of football, more for the neutral than myself. It's common knowledge that we're in a sticky situation, and to go 2-0 down and come back in the manner they did, the players deserve huge credit.

"When we went 2-0 down, I thought I'd be lucky to have a job on Sunday. It was just about sticking to the game-plan, and when the subs went on it really helped us. We caused them problems in the wide areas, we controlled a lot."

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