Premiership (Scotland)

The 29-year-old former Hamilton, Aberdeen and Fleetwood player joined Hibs on a short-term deal in January after serious injury derailed his career following his three outings for the national team in 2019.

Devlin’s only appearance for the Edinburgh club came as a late substitute in last weekend’s season-ending draw with Hearts.

With his Hibs contract due to expire, he will make the short-distance switch across the Lothians to join Livingston and replenish a defence depleted by the departures of key duo Nicky Devlin and Jack Fitzwater under freedom of contract.

“I’m delighted to get Mikey over the line,” Martindale told the Lions’ website.

“He brings a wealth of experience at an extremely good level. Mikey has had his injury problems over the last two to three seasons but I am confident that we have a fantastic skill set at the club to get Mikey back playing Premier League football.

“He is a good age and was playing international football late 2019. He can cover a few positions and is a leader on the park.

“He is versatile and has played in the centre of defence, as a defensive midfielder and at right-back on occasion too.

“There is no doubt in my mind that if it wasn’t for his injuries the last two seasons, he would still be playing international football and at the top end of the league.”

Devlin has signed an initial 12-month contract that can be extended year-on-year for up to three years based on a set amount of starts each season.

Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart made the best save of a goalless first half, but the cinch Premiership champions were three ahead by the midway point of the second.

Turnbull beat former Motherwell team-mate Trevor Carson from the spot in the 51st minute after getting a foul from Grant Irvine as he held off a challenge from Ryan Howley on the edge of the box.

The referee initially awarded a free-kick, but VAR official Steven Kirkland upgraded the award to a penalty and Turnbull converted down the middle.

Kyogo Furuhashi doubled the lead in the 63rd minute, despite heading down the tunnel during the first half for treatment to a recurring shoulder injury. The Japanese striker made an untracked run to meet Callum McGregor’s cross and head home from 12 yards.

Furuhashi turned provider four minutes later as he ran on to Alistair Johnston’s pass to cut the ball back for Matt O’Riley to side-foot home.

Celtic handed debuts to Nat Phillips, Luis Palma and Paulo Bernardo, while Reo Hatate made a comeback from injury off the bench.

Brendan Rodgers was able to give each of his goalscorers an early finish, with Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Feyenoord in Rotterdam in mind.

Phillips started ahead of Gustaf Lagerbielke as Celtic struggled to create space to get in behind Dundee for much of the first half.

Daizen Maeda had a shot stopped after an intricate one-two with Greg Taylor and later saw a goal ruled out for offside after running on to Liam Scales’ lofted pass.

O’Riley saw a deflected effort hit a post, while Yang Hyun-jun looked lively on the right wing after coming in for Liel Abada, who suffered a thigh injury on international duty which is set to rule him out for several months.

The South Korean winger hit a shot wide of the near post, but otherwise Carson was not overly busy before the break.

Dundee had the best chance of the first half when Owen Beck got to the byline and cut the ball back for Luke McCowan, but Hart spread himself to make an excellent point-blank stop.

Lagerbielke replaced Phillips at the interval and Celtic quickly created their best chance so far as Turnbull set up Furuhashi, who blazed well over the bar.

The opener soon came from nothing and Dundee missed a chance to get back in the game when McCowan shot just wide from 18 yards following a counter-attack.

Dundee switched off when Furuhashi scored as Zach Robinson lay in pain near the touchline and the Dundee midfielder soon went off injured.

Johnston hit the bar following Maeda’s backheel before the right-back’s forward pass sparked the move that led to the third goal.

Amadou Bakayoko missed a good chance for a consolation after being set up by McCowan, while Johnston hit a post from close range late on.

The on-loan Arsenal striker came off the bench after 55 minutes and laid on the opening goal for Conor Wilkinson before blasting home in superb fashion to double the hosts’ advantage.

Adam Le Fondre gave Hibs some late hope with his injury-time penalty, though Motherwell held on for their first win of the season.

Lee Johnson’s side are still looking for their first point of the new campaign, while Motherwell moved up to fourth in the table.

Dylan Levitt dragged an effort wide of the target as Hibernian threatened in the early exchanges.

It took until the 20-minute mark for the hosts to register their first goal attempt, Blair Spittal trying his luck from range only for the ball to be deflected behind for a corner.

Dan Casey came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock with four minutes remaining in the first half as the defender bulleted a header beyond Hibs keeper David Marshall and against the underside of the crossbar.

Johnson made a double substitution at the break, introducing Martin Boyle and Le Fondre for Dylan Vente and Levitt – however, it was Motherwell who continued to look the more likely.

Conor Wilkinson did well to weave his way into the visitors’ penalty box in the opening minutes following the restart but was unable to get a shot away. The ball was eventually cleared to Lennon Miller, who could only manage a weak effort into the grateful arms of Marshall.

Spittal went close with a low drive on the hour mark before at the other end, Christian Doidge headed on to the roof of the net.

The opening goal arrived with 24 minutes remaining when Biereth did brilliantly to burst into the box and squared for Wilkinson, who made no mistake from close range.

Bevis Mugabi passed up a good opportunity to double the lead for Stuart Kettlewell’s side as he failed to make any contact with Pape Souare’s corner.

The game looked to have been put beyond doubt with five minutes remaining when Biereth robbed Paul Hanlon before turning two defenders inside out and slamming the ball low beyond Marshall, though there was still time for some late drama.

Hibs were awarded a penalty in the third minute of injury time, which Le Fondre calmly dispatched into the bottom corner.

The 25-year-old centre-back joined the club from West Brom in 2020 and has been a mainstay in David Martindale’s defence throughout his time in West Lothian.

However, Fitzwater has decided not to renew his contract with the Lions and will leave the club in search of a new challenge after this weekend’s match.

“It’s been a massive positive from the first minute I walked through the door,” said the Englishman, reflecting on his time with the Lions.

“I wasn’t really sure what Scottish football would be like but, since coming up here, it’s given me a platform to play, impress and improve.

“I came up, jumped in head-first and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve been at a really good club as well.

“It’s been nice to get that routine of playing regularly, especially when you can go to places like Celtic Park and Ibrox and play in front of 50-60,000.

“The lads and the staff have helped me out massively and I think year on year I’ve got stronger. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, it’s made me a better player. I’ve made friends for life here.”

Asked why he has decided to move on, Fitzwater – who has interest from clubs in England – said: “I’m at a stage in my career where I just want to see what I can do next. I’m still young and I want to achieve a lot in the game so I’ll just wait and see what happens in the summer.”

Livingston are currently eighth in the league but have the chance to leapfrog Motherwell and finish top of the bottom six if the Steelmen slip up against Dundee United on Sunday.

“We’re disappointed not to finish in the top six,” said Fitzwater, reflecting on the season. “We probably let ourselves down in a few games, but if we can win on Sunday and finish best of the rest it will overall be a good season.”

The Staggies won 1-0 thanks to a late Jordan White goal, heading in from close range at a corner kick.

However, Connor Randall had earlier hit a post and missed a separate one-on-one opportunity – leading Adams to believe County were well worth the first three points of his third spell in charge.

“We’ve created three or four big opportunities in the game, and we could have been two or three-nil up,” Adams explained.

“St Mirren had their first chance in the 80th minute, and I think that overall we were the team in the ascendancy.

“We created some really good opportunities and started well – just like we did on Saturday against Kilmarnock. We didn’t get the fortune on Saturday, but our balls into the box caused St Mirren trouble and that’s how we got the winning goal.

“Connor Randall also hit the post, and I don’t know how he missed the one-on-one, but overall I’m delighted for the players and the supporters.

“The way we passed the ball and got into the final third, we put St Mirren on the back foot right from the start of the game.

“We created openings and got corner kicks, and they didn’t really trouble us tonight. St Mirren have done really well this season to be third in the league, but we’re now six points behind them.”

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson, meanwhile, was of the opinion that a draw would have been a fairer result.

He said: “I don’t think either team really deserved to win. There wasn’t a huge amount of quality on show.

“We didn’t start brightly enough, they started better than us and in the last 20 minutes, then we had the better of the rest of the half.

“The second half was a lot of nothing but at the end we didn’t do the basics right, so we didn’t deserve to win the game. Unfortunately we switched off and we got punished for it.

“It had 0-0 written all over it. There weren’t too many clear-cut chances before that. County hit the post and their keeper had a really good save, but it was a game of few chances.

“On a night like this, a point would have been a good result, but we didn’t get the basics right when it mattered.”

Malky Mackay’s surprise departure after MacGregor lived up to his reputation of sacking managers at the drop of a hat by once again wielding his axe followed a run of nine matches without a victory.

County in fact had not won since beating Kilmarnock away on September 2 and had slipped to second bottom of the cinch Premiership as a consequence of that dismal run.

But there was no instant bounce from the change in personnel despite the home side carving out a reasonable percentage of chances.

Kilmarnock were twice saved by goal-line clearances in the first half and, had this encounter taken the form of a boxing match, County would have been declared winners on points.

They had the mild satisfaction of improving a place to 10th in the table, a point off bottom spot while Kilmarnock remain in sixth despite not having won away this season.

For all that they had to settle for a single point there were probably enough positives in County’s performance to encourage Adams’ belief that he will be able to preserve the club’s Premiership status after nine years away in England.

Yan Dhanda’s clever runs and willingness to dribble with the ball was a feature of County’s performance. So, too, was their general work ethic and efforts to pressurise the opposition.

But that alone was not enough to end a near three-month wait to return to winning ways, albeit that Kilmarnock were fortunate to survive without conceding.

It took until the 14th minute for the game to open up following a period of careful assessment on the part of both teams.

When it did it was County who bared their teeth first, Ryan Leak forcing a save from William Dennis with a header.

Almost immediately Jack Baldwin played a long ball over the top for Dhanda to run onto and set up James Brown for a shot on goal.

But, with Dennis beaten, Kilmarnock were saved by Joe Wright’s goal-line clearance.

When play swung to the other end, Ross Laidlaw did well to save a deflected shot from Daniel Armstrong before Dennis then denied Dhanda.

Kilmarnock lived dangerously again coming up to half-time when Connor Randall threatened to break the deadlock.

But a second goal-line clearance, this time a header from Stuart Findlay, denied Randall a goal.

Killie took the lead through a Dylan Vente own goal and Matty Kennedy added a second before Joe Newell pulled one back with a sensational volley.

Ndaba was then shown a red card for a foul on Jair Tavares, with referee Grant Irvine upgrading his yellow to red after being advised by VAR Nick Walsh to consult the pitchside monitor.

And it would prove costly as substitute Myziane Maolida fired home a late equaliser to salvage a point for Hibs.

McInnes said: “For Nick Walsh and VAR to get involved in that, I find it disappointing and strange. Unless there is a different angle I’ve not seen, it’s not dangerous or violent.

“He’s not high, he’s not going in at excessive speed or going in to hurt the boy. Yes, there is a follow through but what is Corrie meant to do?

“It’s not his fault Tavares’ leg is there but he’s not tried to stamp or anything – he’s won the ball. I don’t even think it’s a yellow card. The ref did and that should have sufficed.

“It changed the course of the game. Hibs might have been good enough to get something out of the game. Joe Newell scores an unbelievable goal and it gave them a lifeline. But the red card also gave them a bigger lift.

“Whether VAR has gone for or against me, I have always said the same thing. Let the referee ref the game. Don’t get involved unless you really need to – and I have not seen that with this challenge.

“This wasn’t what VAR was meant for. It was for the big decisions. The referees are not being referees any more. They are not getting the chance to referee what they see.”

Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery was full of praise for the character of his side.

“The second goal came totally against the run of play and it’s disappointing to concede that goal but from that point you either crumble or you stand big and I thought there were some really big performances in that second half,” he said.

“The first goal gave us belief and Myziane when he came on – you can see the guy is a top-quality player. He needs to get fit, he’s not played since November but he caused all sorts of problems and deserved his goal.

“It was actually really disappointing not to come away with the three points. (Christian) Doidge has an open goal at the end and that’s his bread and butter – looks like it’s going in then just drops wide.

“We’ll take the point though. It’s a difficult place to come and we’ll take that confidence.”

Killie sprang out of the traps despite swirling wind and rain and 18-year-old midfielder David Watson hammered in a long-distance drive in the sixth minute before veteran striker Marley Watkins added a second in the 17th minute to have the home side in command.

Kilmarnock should have added to their lead in the first half before Craig Levein’s side regrouped and Saints substitute Nicky Clark, back fit again, reduced the deficit on the hour mark.

But Killie held on as they stretched their unbeaten run to four games and moved a point ahead of St Mirren, whom they play in Paisley on Wednesday.

Boss McInnes said: “I thought we were terrific in that opening 30 minutes or so. We were aware of the conditions in the warm-up with the wind swirling, but we asked the players to take real responsibility to try and get the ball down and play around St Johnstone’s shape.

“We wanted to make sure we played around that, get good service from the wider areas and try to play forward from there either down the sides of their centre-halves or into our strikers’ feet. I thought we did all that really well.

“Ultimately, you still need big moments and two brilliant goals from our point of view.

“Top-class from Watson. He sorts his feet out well. Danny (Armstrong) takes a great first touch to step in the pitch and plays a little reverse ball into Davie.

“It’s in a tight area, but he sorts his feet out and a brilliant strike and Marley’s goal was as good a striker’s goal as you’ll see.

“I think he toe-pokes it in. It’s an absolutely brilliant finish, so two brilliant goals and we passed up two or three real opportunities after that and it was a real dominant performance.

“But it’s the Premiership. St Johnstone changed their shape towards the end of the first half, had a couple of moments.

“We didn’t have the same dominance and spoke at half-time about the need to go and score the next goal.

“I’m disappointed and angry with the goal we lost from the set-play. I think it’s all a bit too easy and too simplistic.

“I’m not convinced it was a foul, but they are able to put the ball in the box and we have to be stronger. Our line was good in terms of where we should be, we just have to stop Nicky Clark getting through it.

“Clark is good in the air, he’ll thrive off good service and that’s exactly what happened.”

Levein was “mystified” by his side’s start to the game.

The former Scotland boss said: “That was a strange game. I don’t know what happened.

“We’ve not started any games since I’ve been here in that manner.

“I also have to say as much as we were off it, Killie started really well.

“We were two down and they missed a chance to go to three before we even turned up.

“Then when we turned up I was happy. I thought we ended the first half well and then I thought we had more dominance and I was pleased with the performance.

“We snookered ourselves by giving away two goals early on.

“I was just trying to work out what the hell had happened. It’s much easier looking back and I’ll pore over the footage.

“I don’t know if going two behind actually took the pressure off and we then thought maybe we’ll start playing football now.

“Once we started doing that it was harder for Killie to get dominance and their chances started to dry up.”

The Rugby Park side had not won in the league since defeating Rangers on the opening day of the season but were relatively comfortable here as they moved up to fifth place in the table.

Danny Armstrong’s early goal was cancelled out by a Sean Kelly penalty but Vassell’s brace of headers left his manager a contented man.

McInnes said: “We needed to win. There was no getting away from that.

“I can sit here and go on about the positives – and there were some in the (other) performances.

“We have been good in isolated games and these teams – Hearts, St Mirren, Hibs – they are good sides. These are not gimmes.

“So there were a lot of games in this run we’ve done OK in – but I didn’t enjoy looking at the league table.

“Obviously we knew we could go fifth today and, while you don’t want to get too obsessed with the table when you’ve not played a quarter of the games, I like where we are sitting now.

“Let’s see if we can hang about there as long as we can now.

“We just needed to win. We spoke about it during the weeks as it’s hard to keep being positive when the wins were not coming.

“Today we ran hard, worked extremely hard all over the pitch and the physicality of the team was strong. That was really important.”

Livingston boss David Martindale was naturally disappointed, especially losing two goals to headers, one from a dead ball situation.

He said: “Take the scoreline away, the game went the way we thought it would, with set-plays playing a large part of the game.

“The first goal we should deal with a lot better down our right-hand side, although they did get a wee bit fortunate with a deflection.

“Kilmarnock had dominated us. Then we get the penalty and get back in the game but we get a kick in the stomach with their second goal.

“Our defensive line is terrible, Vassell gets a free header and is unmarked in our box going for a free-kick from a wide area.

“Our shape wasn’t great and in the one-against-one duels we got bullied a wee bit. Kilmarnock won more of their aerial duels and won more second balls than us.”

The Staggies are looking for their third different manager this season after Adams, who replaced Malky Mackay in November, resigned on Wednesday in the wake of a 5-0 defeat at Motherwell.

County have asked Cowie, who was assistant to both Mackay and Adams, to take the reins on a temporary basis.

It remains to be seen if the former Scotland midfielder, 40, who began and ended his playing career with the Dingwall club either side of spells with Inverness, Watford, Cardiff, Wigan and Hearts, will be considered for the role permanently.

Adams took seven points from his first three games in charge but then managed just two points from his last eight league matches, leaving Ross County second bottom of the cinch Premiership, six points clear of bottom club Livingston and five below 10th-placed St Johnstone with a game in hand.

In addition to poor league form, County also suffered a 3-0 home defeat by cinch Championship side Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup last month. That result means they are idle this weekend before returning to action with a daunting trip to title-chasing Rangers next Wednesday.

Saints, who confirmed on Saturday that Steven MacLean will continue as manager on a permanent basis after a successful interim spell, had little to play for with safety guaranteed, but put in a stellar performance on the day Steve Brown emotionally stepped down as chairman after 11 years at the helm.

Wright opened the scoring after 17 minutes when he capitalised on some slack Livingston defending to score, before fit-again forward Kane climbed off the St Johnstone bench to net his first goal since December 26, 2021 from the penalty spot.

Boss MacLean made just one change from St Johnstone’s six-goal thriller with Ross County as Alex Mitchell replaced Andy Considine after the defender picked up an injury in the warm-up.

Livingston were eyeing the prospect of European football earlier in the year but a significant downturn in form has seen them earn just 11 points in 14 games since defeating Kilmarnock in February.

David Martindale made five changes from the 1-1 midweek draw with Dundee United as Jack Hamilton, James Penrice, Jason Holt, Scott Pittman and Steven Bradley all started.

The home side’s bright start paid dividends as they took the lead after just 17 minutes. After Ryan McGowan’s acrobatic effort was tipped over at full stretch by Hamilton, Wright latched onto a through ball which bypassed the whole Livingston defence and he rifled past Hamilton.

Livingston offered more of an attacking threat after the restart and should have levelled when Holt’s cross found Pittman unmarked six yards out but he glanced his header wide of the target.

St Johnstone should have doubled their lead minutes later when Graham Carey’s low cross found Wright just two yards from goal, but he somehow sent his effort over the bar with the goal gaping.

Saints were handed the opportunity to double their lead from 12 yards after 68 minutes when Penrice brought down James Brown inside the box as he raced towards goal.

Substitute Kane was handed responsibility and he kept his composure to fire home into the top right-hand corner.

Carey missed the opportunity to add gloss to the score line as he hit the side-netting from close range.

And there was even time for St Johnstone legend Murray Davidson to make his 415th and final appearance for the Saints as he paid an emotional farewell to McDiarmid Park after 14 years at the club.

Saints have only beaten Dundee United and Motherwell in 2023 and a 2-0 home defeat against the Steelmen last Saturday left them in the midst of the cinch Premiership relegation fight.

They now face journeys to play the two teams immediately below them in their next two games, starting with Saturday’s clash with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Wright said: “I was going into the game at the weekend really confident we were going to win that one and it would be pretty much be job done.

“But it didn’t pan out that way so we just move on another week with the same goal.

“There is no shying away from it. We have got to stand up and put away chances.

“I had a big one at the weekend which I was not happy with at all so I know that getting one this weekend is a massive chance to put away and that will be a big step in securing our safety.

“For months we have had whispers between ourselves – ‘another couple of wins and we will be fine’ – and we are now in the last three games of the season and we are still saying the same thing. It’s time to put it to bed once and for all.

“It’s getting to that crunch time but we have got to rise up and do the job.”

Both sides had chances but just could not find the back of the net.

The result means Dundee have drawn three games in succession while the Staggies have ended a run of three defeats in a row.

County had an opportunity in the 13th minute when Yan Dhanda fired a dangerous corner in from the right with Jack Baldwin’s shot being blocked in front of goal by a home defender.

The Staggies then passed up a gilt-edged opportunity to take the lead when Dhanda played in Simon Murray but with the goal at his mercy, his shot was too close to home keeper Trevor Carson who made a vital stop with his foot to deny the striker.

The hosts hit back straight away with County keeper Ross Laidlaw having to turn a low Finlay Robertson shot away for a corner with the keeper called into action again soon after to gather a Zak Rudden shot from the edge of the box.

County had another opening of their own on the half-hour mark with a Dhanda corner from the right finding James Brown, with Carson producing a fantastic save from the defender’s header.

The hosts’ Amadou Bakayoko tried his luck from long range but his shot lacked venom and was easily gathered by Laidlaw and the teams headed in at half-time with the score still deadlocked.

The Staggies thought they had finally broken the deadlock in the 64th minute when Brown bundled home but the “goal” was ruled out for offside, a decision that was eventually rubber-stamped after referee Colin Steven was called to the trackside monitor by VAR Andrew Dallas with the official agreeing with the initial call.

The hosts hit straight back with Bakayoko smashing a fierce shot that Laidlaw stopped at his near post with a vital save.

Eamonn Brophy came off the bench and was agonisingly close to making an immediate impact, sending a well-struck shot from 25 yards fizzing just past Carson’s right-hand post.

Another sub, Dundee’s Diego Pineda then had a chance of his own as he cut in from the left but his shot was too close to Laidlaw who made a near-post block. The Mexican striker had another opportunity shortly after but this time he dragged his shot wide.

With the clock ticking down, the game was on a knife edge and Pineda had a chance to win it in the 89th minute but his shot was saved with his feet by Laidlaw.

The incident happened at the end of the cinch Premiership match that the Dark Blues won 2-1, with the Saints defender involved in a clash of heads with the on-loan Burnley striker.

After a lengthy stoppage, Mellon was stretchered off and taken to hospital in an ambulance.

Dundee boss Docherty said: “He’s not great. I’d like the referee to comment on that.

“For me, that was almost life-endangering that challenge.

“And to not even get a booking for it…

“Michael is a top boy in our team and I’m concerned for him because he took a really bad blow to the back of the head.

“Luckily we have a brilliant doctor here, Dr McCormack, who didn’t pay any attention to the referee and ran onto the pitch.

“It was a sour note at the end of the game and the player’s welfare is the most important thing.”

Dundee had gone behind to an early Matt Smith goal but stormed back after the break with a controversial penalty from Luke McCowan and a late header from Jordan McGhee.

Docherty added: “My team were absolutely outstanding. Their level of performance for the majority of the season has been high but here they showed a real bravery.

“Every player deserves huge credit.”

Saints boss Craig Levein slammed the decision to award a penalty for the incident involving Gordon and Amadou Bakayoko, with referee David Munro’s attention drawn to what happened by VAR Don Robertson.

The manager said: “It’s not VAR, it’s people making the decisions.

“The decision-making for me was ridiculous.

“Look at every set-piece in a game and you could find something that could be called a foul.

“Firstly, Gordy’s arm is raised by David Keltjens. It’s raised Gordy’s arm and it’s on the shoulder.

“The referee is none the wiser but somebody decides it’s a good idea to intervene.

“That’s not a clear and obvious error.

“It’s very simple. It’s not VAR, it’s somebody sitting in a wee booth somewhere thinking ‘you know if I’m pretty bored I’ll maybe call the referee over for this one’.

“Nobody knows what’s going on.

“That’s the third one of those that has gone against us.

“Maybe Dundee haven’t had much luck recently but we certainly haven’t, that’s for sure.

“What really, really annoyed me was our response to it was abysmal.

“I apologise to our supporters for our second-half performance because it wasn’t good enough.”

The 25-year-old struck a superb second-half free-kick to clinch all three points and move the Dark Blues up to sixth in the table.

It was McCowan’s second goal of the season – with Docherty pointing out before the game that he had netted fewer than centre-half skipper Joe Shaughnessy.

Docherty said: “We are a newly-promoted team and nobody can expect a home game against Livingston to be easy.

“It’s a tough, tough game and you have to do so many things right.

“I think what defined the match was a moment of quality from Luke McCowan.

“I’m delighted for him. I’m always banging on to him to get more goals and assists – I was teasing him the other day saying Joe Shaughnessy has more goals than him. Now he’s level with Joe!

“I’m really pleased for the team.

“This squad’s mentality is fantastic and has been from day one.

“The clean sheets we are keeping give you such a platform to win games.”

The defeat at Dens was the second time Livingston had lost to Dundee in the space of eight days.

However, this time round, boss David Martindale insisted he could not be angry with his players.

He said: “A moment of brilliance from Luke McCowan changed the dynamic of the game.

“We had a fantastic chance with Joel Nouble and he’s got to do better with it.

“It’s a part of his game where he’s got to become more ruthless. He’s got to hit the target.

“I thought we shaded the first half but should have taken more care in the final third. We could have done better.

“In the second half, I thought we were the better team but Dundee defended their box well.

“I feel for the players. I was angry when we lost to Dundee last week but I can’t have any anger with the players today.”

Livi have now lost four games in a row and remain ninth with Martindale admitting his side are in a dogfight to stay up.

He said: “I think we’ll be in a relegation battle up to matchday 33 – or even matchday 38.

“I’ve been at Livingston for ten years and I think I’ve been in a relegation battle for nine.

“Have we over-achieved? I think we have.

“Do I think we’ve got more than enough to get out of this? Of course we have.”

Saints had stormed into an early lead thanks to a Matt Smith goal but the Dark Blues fought back after the break with a controversial Luke McCowan penalty and what proved to be the winner in the closing stages from Jordan McGhee.

The result leaves Dundee in sixth place, three points ahead of Hibernian, while St Johnstone remain 10th.

The hosts had the first shot of the game in the fourth minute but Lyall Cameron’s strike was deflected wide for a corner with the same player not far away with a curling effort shortly afterwards.

However, it was Saints who made the early breakthrough in the ninth minute.

Graham Carey found Smith just inside the Dundee box and the Wales international made no mistake with a clinical low strike that flew past home goalkeeper Trevor Carson and into the bottom corner of the net.

The home side looked to hit straight back with midfielder Cameron trying his luck again but St Johnstone goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov dived to his right to snuff out the danger.

The keeper then had a big scare when he attempted to clear but only succeeded in hitting Amadou Bakayoko, with the ball cannoning back into the side-netting.

Dundee came close again when a shot inside the box from skipper Joe Shaughnessy took a nick and trundled just past Mitov’s right-hand post.

The hosts continued to look dangerous and came close to equalising again when an Aaron Donnelly header from an Owen Beck corner was cleared off his own line by Carey.

Carson was called into action in the 33rd minute when a Shaughnessy header fell to Benjamin Kimpioka who unleashed a fierce drive with the keeper producing an outstanding acrobatic save to tip the ball over his crossbar.

Saints struggled to create clear-cut chances after the break but they burst into life on the hour, with Adama Sidibeh producing a bicycle kick that Carson tipped over and then Andy Considine saw a header clatter off the home bar.

However, Dundee finally equalised in the 65th minute.

Referee David Munro was called to the pitchside monitor by the VAR to review an incident in the Saints box involving contact between Liam Gordon and Bakayoko, with the official awarding a penalty to the home side.

McCowan stepped up and fired the spot-kick into the back of the net off the inside of a post.

Dundee then completed their dramatic comeback in the 89th minute when Beck swung a cross into the Saints box with McGhee sending a superb glancing header past Mitov.

The game ended on a sour note for the hosts when substitute Michael Mellon had to be stretchered off prompting 17 minutes of stoppage time.

Munro deemed one of the Dens Park goalmouths waterlogged and the match was postponed about an hour before kick-off. But the rain soon stopped as forecast and Dundee went on to train on the pitch.

It was the second cinch Premiership match to be postponed because of the wet weather after Ross County’s game against Hibernian in Dingwall fell foul of a 10am pitch inspection.

A Dundee statement read: “Dundee Football Club are extremely disappointed and frustrated at the decision to call off this afternoon’s match against Aberdeen. The club had monitored the condition of the pitch and were not concerned that the match would be postponed.

“The weather forecast was also closely monitored and it was to be dry and windy come 2.30pm which it was.

“When half of the refereeing team arrived, later than would normally be expected, at the Scot Foam Stadium between 1.40pm and 1.50pm they indicated that they would carry out a full pitch inspection.

“Following the inspection the referee decided that the game was not going to take place and called the match off.

“The club are extremely unhappy with what followed next and the actions of the referee. There was no consultation with Police Scotland, club officials, either manager, the SPFL (Scottish Professional Football League) delegate, the match commander, the safety team or the grounds team.

“The decision was announced publicly without giving club officials and Police Scotland the opportunity to manage supporter safety considerations.

“Additionally, the SPFL has given clear guidelines that referees should take all steps to get matches on, which include delaying kick-off, as was seen with the match this afternoon at Cove.

“The club fully believe that the pitch was playable and this was then illustrated with the players training on the pitch at 3pm.

“The club will be seeking clarity from the SPFL and the SFA (Scottish Football Association) regarding protocols and match postponements and in the meantime can only apologise to the supporters of both clubs who have been let down by the very late and unnecessary call-off.”

Aberdeen chief executive Alan Burrows apologised to supporters who made their way down Scotland’s north-east coast for no reason two days before Christmas.

“It’s a real sickener for them because it’s been a difficult season already for them in terms of travelling, all across Europe, to the cup final, all over Scotland following the team, so I’m hugely frustrated for them, as well as for the players who have worked hard since the Livingston game to be ready for this one,” Burrows told RedTV.

“We had 3,500 Aberdeen fans coming here to roar on the team, so to be told the game is off as most of them are queuing up to get into the stadium is hugely frustrating. Collectively in Scottish football, we need to do better than that.

“I wasn’t here in Dundee earlier today so I can’t comment on the state of things this morning.

“But what I would say is that I think it’s really incumbent upon all clubs and others to give fans as much notice as they can and if that means having earlier precautionary inspections, so be it.

“We checked this morning with Dundee about the pitch and the playability of the game given the weather in Aberdeen wasn’t the best, and we were given assurances that they were very confident the game would go on.”

Cove Rangers managed to get their League One game against Edinburgh City on after volunteers helped clear snow off the pitch.

The Aberdeen-based club offered free entry to “anyone who can provide a helping hand with a snow shovel”.

The game eventually kicked off half-an-hour late.

The on-loan Burnley forward was on the receiving end of what Dark Blues boss Tony Docherty described afterwards as an “almost life-endangering challenge” from Saints defender Liam Gordon towards the end of the match.

Dundee team doctor Derek McCormack, sensing the danger, ran on to the pitch to treat Mellon even though referee David Munro had not stopped play.

The player was carried off the pitch on a stretcher and taken to Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital before being discharged on Sunday evening, but Dundee have written to the Scottish Football Association “in the strongest terms” to outline their worries about the on-field response to the incident.

“Michael sustained a significant head injury in yesterday’s match against St Johnstone, but thanks to the swift intervention by Dr McCormack and the medical team, his condition was stabilised and he was transferred to Ninewells Hospital Accident and Emergency Department,” read a statement released by Dundee on Monday.

“Following specialist investigations he was discharged with appropriate head injury advice. He will continue his recovery under the supervision of the club’s medical team in accordance with concussion protocols.

“The club is today writing to the Scottish FA in the strongest terms to express its serious concerns that play was not stopped to allow immediate attention to Michael after what was clearly a dreadful head clash.”

United suffered a fourth consecutive defeat which, coupled with Ross County’s draw against St Johnstone, left them needing a hugely unlikely turn of events on the final day on Sunday to avoid a second relegation in seven years.

United need to beat in-form Motherwell at Fir Park and hope Killie beat Ross County and somehow engineer an eight-goal swing along the way.

Killie are three points ahead of County but will need to get at least a point against the Dingwall side on Sunday to stay out of the play-off spot.

United boss Jim Goodwin admitted after his side’s third consecutive defeat on Saturday against Livingston that they “keep shooting ourselves in the foot” with defensive errors, and the two goals they conceded in the first half to Vassell were textbook examples.

The home side went down with a whimper and Innes Cameron came off the bench to net a late third on the counter-attack.

Goodwin had made some major decisions in his team selection. Mark Birighitti was dropped after the goalkeeper’s latest blunder in a difficult season and 21-year-old Jack Newman was handed his second start for the club. His first ended in a 4-0 defeat by Ross County. Steven Fletcher started after missing Saturday’s game with a groin injury and Peter Pawlett made his fourth start of the season.

Defenders Chris Stokes and Ash Taylor returned from injury for Killie and, with David Watson and Liam Donnelly dropping out through suspension and injury respectively, Liam Polworth and Brad Lyons came into their midfield.

The opener came in the 14th minute after Loick Ayina tried to dribble past a third opponent on his way out of his own penalty box. The United centre-back overran the ball, lunged into a strong tackle which went unpunished by referee Alan Muir, but the ball was in the corner of the net two seconds later after ultimately falling for Vassell 18 yards out.

Vassell soon came close to an extraordinary second goal. The striker chested the ball down inside the centre circle with his back to goal and turned and lobbed Newman, who did well to backtrack and push the ball over his bar almost on the line.

The Northern Ireland international did net again in the 44th minute after more sloppy play in possession from the hosts.

Ilmari Niskanen played a slack pass towards Ayina, Christian Doidge won the ball and lifted it over Newman before being cleaned out by the goalkeeper. Vassell made sure there was no need for a penalty by knocking the ball home.

United were booed off at half-time after an unconvincing attacking display. Fletcher and Pawlett both fluffed good chances before being flagged offside anyway, and the former volleyed over first time.

Goodwin brought on Dylan Levitt and Glenn Middleton for the second half but there was little sign of improvement.

Vassell went off injured following a foul by Charlie Mulgrew but his replacement, Cameron, marked his return from nine months out with injury by converting following Rory McKenzie’s break forward in the 83rd minute.

Rory McLeod hit the post for United before Sam Walker saved from another sub, Miller Thomson, but most of the home fans had already left.

A late goal for Ross County was set to put United down until former United player Ryan McGowan levelled for St Johnstone, but their fate is all but sealed.

The Terrors required a victory and an eight-goal swing in goal difference to avoid the drop but they were unable to produce a great escape at Fir Park.

Kevin van Veen took his incredible scoring run to 11 consecutive matches by breaking the deadlock after five minutes – setting a new Scottish Premiership record in the process.

United responded through Jamie McGrath’s penalty and Steven Fletcher coolly fired Jim Goodwin’s side ahead early in the second half, but Motherwell would come surging back.

Blair Spittal levelled after 69 minutes before Max Johnston grabbed a winner shortly after having a goal ruled out for offside.

Spittal saw a shot gathered at the second time of asking as the home side threatened in the first minute.

The opening goal arrived after five minutes when Sean Goss dispossessed Glenn Middleton and slid a neat through ball to Van Veen, who coolly rounded the goalkeeper before slamming the ball into the net.

United were in desperate need of a response, and a good stop by Liam Kelly prevented Middleton drawing them level in the 10th minute. Fletcher was then denied an equaliser by an excellent goal-line clearance from Paul McGinn.

Van Veen almost doubled his tally after he connected with Stephen O’Donnell’s cross, only for his header to clip the crossbar and drift over the top.

Referee Steven MacLean awarded the visitors a penalty following a VAR check on the half-hour which showed Bevis Mugabi to have handled inside the area.

McGrath stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick and he powerfully dispatched the ball beyond the reach of Kelly to restore parity for Goodwin’s men.

Mikael Mandron passed up a glorious chance to head Motherwell back in front when he failed to hit the target following good work from Van Veen.

Fletcher’s close-range header struck the outside of a post just before half-time, though the striker would complete the turnaround three minutes into the second half – giving their travelling supporters a glimmer of hope that they could orchestrate a miracle turnaround.

Peter Pawlett did well to link with McGrath before surging forward, and he teed-up Fletcher for the simplest of finishes past Kelly.

A superb save by Jack Newman prevented Mugabi’s point-blank header from finding the net and there was a further chance for Mandron before James Furlong’s low drive somehow stayed out after striking a post and flashing across the goal-line.

The equaliser eventually arrived with 21 minutes remaining on the clock, Spittal drilling the ball beyond the despairing Newman from the edge of the box.

Johnston saw a goal ruled out for offside as the home side continued to press and Goss really should have taken on a shot himself rather than squaring the ball to Van Veen who was hampered by a tight angle.

Johnston was not to denied second time around when he found the net again with eight minutes left on the clock, turning home Furlong’s cross to put beyond any doubt that the Tannadice side would be relegated.