McGowan's stoppage-time goal earned Livingston FC a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Arbroath in the Championship on Saturday. The win moves the club up to sixth place in the table with 14 points from 11 games, nine points behind leaders Stenhousemuir.
McGowan struck in the second minute of added time to break a stubborn deadlock at the Tony Macaroni Arena. The result ends a run of two consecutive league defeats for Livingston and provides a timely boost before their next fixture.
Key moments
The game was a tight affair with Livingston's Polworth receiving an early yellow card in the second minute. Arbroath's Paterson was also cautioned just before half-time. The visitors saw McKenna booked in the 55th minute, and Stewart followed in the 67th.
Denholm replaced Danso after 54 minutes, Anderson came on for Tete Yengi on 59 minutes, and May was introduced for Nicholson with 21 minutes remaining. Further substitutions saw van Hoeven and Winter enter the fray on 70 minutes.
Arbroath's McKenna was shown a second yellow card and sent off in the 90th minute, setting the stage for McGowan's decisive intervention moments later.
League context
The three points are vital for Livingston's campaign. They now have a record of four wins, two draws and five losses this season, having scored 14 goals and conceded 11. Their recent form shows two wins, one draw and two losses from the last five matches. This victory follows a goalless draw at Dunfermline and precedes a major test away to Stenhousemuir on Friday night. The full fixtures list shows the challenge ahead.
Livingston will travel to Ochilview Park to face the league leaders, who beat them 1-0 in the reverse fixture earlier this season. The club's current standings position keeps them in the mix for the promotion play-offs as the season approaches its midpoint.
