Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery praised his players for producing a “real professional performance” as they climbed back into the cinch Premiership top six with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Livingston.

The Leith side had the game all but wrapped up inside 22 minutes after Jordan Obita, Myziane Maolida and Adam Le Fondre found the target.

It was a long afternoon for the Lions as they slipped 10 points adrift of Ross County at the foot of the table.

Montgomery, whose team are now two points clear of seventh-placed Dundee, who face Rangers on Sunday, said: “That was an enjoyable afternoon – three points, three goals and a clean sheet, a real professional performance in a game everyone expected to win.

“We were playing a Livingston team who are really fighting hard for Davie Martindale, you could see that, and they fought in the second half to keep us out, kept battling right to the end.

“I’m probably a bit disappointed we didn’t get a couple more goals. But we have to be pleased with the result after a tough week, a long trip home from Ross County after a tiring game on a soft pitch.

“It’s always nice to be in the top six. But we can’t get carried away with what could be, what should be.

“We go into that break now on the back of six games undefeated. We have to take that momentum into the break, recover a few boys, get a few back from injury, and give everything we can between now and the end of the season.”

Obita got Hibs up and running after five minutes when he tapped in before Maolida swept home a second from close range two minutes later.

Le Fondre made it three when he got on the end of an Elie Youan cross.

Livingston’s preparations for the game had been hampered by a bug which forced boss Martindale to cancel training on Tuesday.

And he admitted some members of his team were still feeling the effects of illness at Easter Road.

Martindale said: “I’m not trying to make excuses for the players or for me because I take full responsibility.

“But we had to shut the club this week due to flu. That wasn’t an ideal start to the week.

“There were two or three boys with it you’ve asked to play.

“It was painful in the first 20 minutes.”

Hibernian moved back into the cinch Premiership’s top six with an emphatic 3-0 win at home to Livingston.

Jordan Obita, Myziane Maolida and Adam Le Fondre were on target within the first 22 minutes as the hosts blew away their struggling visitors.

Livingston were in danger of suffering an even heavier loss but managed to regroup to at least put up a fight for the rest of the game.

The result left Hibs two points clear of Dundee, who face Rangers on Sunday, in sixth place.

Bottom side Livingston, who were hit by a bug that swept through the squad earlier in the week, slipped 10 points behind second-bottom Ross County and now seem certain to be playing Championship football next season.

The hosts flew out of the blocks as they stormed into a commanding two-goal lead inside seven minutes.

Livingston had barely had a touch of the ball by the time Obita stroked home the first after five minutes, such was the home side’s dominance.

Nectar Triantis burst forward from midfield and found Le Fondre in the box.

The forward’s teasing pass was cut out by Jamie Brandon at the front post, but Obita was left with a simple tap-in.

There was no let-up from Hibs and they soon doubled their lead.

Joe Newell’s pass picked out Elie Youan and the Frenchman’s square ball was tucked away by Maolida from 12 yards.

Any game plan Livingston had of trying to frustrate Hibs was ripped up and even at such an early stage the game appeared set to become a damage limitation exercise for the away team.

To Livingston’s credit, they regained some sort of composure and at least asked questions of the Hibs defence by getting crosses into the box.

The third goal from Hibs in the 22nd minute actually came when Livingston were on the attack.

Chris Cadden led the counter and found Youan with a sliding pass and the forward’s ball across the box was gratefully dispatched by Le Fondre.

Livingston goalkeeper Shamal George denied Hibs a fourth before the break when he pushed Le Fondre’s stinging drive from an angle behind for a corner.

Livingston at least got a shot away in the second half when Mo Sangare saw his effort tipped behind by substitute goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott.

But the second period was largely a non-event as Hibs eased their way to the points.

Hibernian boss Nick Montgomery was left furious that a refereeing mistake cost his side all three points against Ross County.

Hibs had come from behind to lead, with Myziane Maolida and Adam Le Fondre scoring after Josh Sims’ opener, only for Yan Dhanda to strike with practically the final kick of the game and rescue a 2-2 draw for County.

Montgomery, though, felt that the final goal stemmed from a County throw-in that should have gone Hibs’ way, and was frustrated that what he saw as a mistake by the officials proved so costly to his team.

“We just lost two points we shouldn’t have lost,” he said.

“We dominated the game in the second half and got back into the game, and should have won it.

“A Ross County defender heads it out for our throw-in. I think everyone can see that, and their defender starts heading backwards – but somehow they pick up another ball 10 yards down the pitch, throw it back in and we concede.

“We have to pick out several moments for not defending that, but we lose two points and it’s really disappointing and frustrating.

“We have to be responsible for not defending our box, even though we should not have had to.

“We should be good enough to win anyway, but we also should not have to defend the throw-in.

“We’ve got another game before the international break at home, so we’ll prepare for that now and aim to get three points on Saturday.”

Montgomery’s opposite number Don Cowie, meanwhile, felt County showed plenty of character to come back and salvage a point when it looked as though they would come away empty-handed.

“It backs up what I already know about the character of the group,” Cowie said.

“It looked like the game had got away from us, but you have to keep going. That point could be invaluable come the end of the season.

“We’re disappointed to let our lead slip from half-time, but we showed great character to get a point in the end.

“That’s the last three home games where I’ve felt comfortable at half-time, so it’s something I’ve got to look at.

“Naturally the opposition is going to respond, but we need to be ready for that and we need to get better at that.”

Yan Dhanda scored a last-gasp equaliser as relegation-threatened Ross County secured a 2-2 draw against Hibernian in the cinch Premiership.

The Staggies had gone in front in the 43rd minute through Josh Sims, who was left with a tap-in at the back post from Simon Murray’s cross, but Hibs powered back through goals from Myziane Maolida and then Adam Le Fondre.

That was not all, though, as in the ninth minute of added time Dhanda popped up to convert Murray’s cross and salvage a point for the hosts in Dingwall.

County had what looked like a golden opportunity to break the deadlock in the first half when they got a three-on-one advantage inside the Hibs half.

Sims, however, could not pick out Eamonn Brophy in the middle – a moment that summed up the goal threat in the match to that point.

Hibernian suffered a blow when Lewis Miller was forced off through injury around 10 minutes before the interval, but they tried not to let that hamper them too much, with Will Fish sending the next attempt at goal wide of the mark before Maolida forced George Wickens to dive to his right to keep the ball away from goal.

Just a couple of minutes before the interval, though, the Staggies took the lead.

Murray’s cross was initially aimed towards Connor Randall, but when David Marshall came out to try and collect it the ball flew past everyone to Sims, who was left with a tap-in at the back post.

The lead was relatively short-lived, with Hibs pulling back level within 10 minutes of the restart.

Elie Youan slipped Maolida through on goal, and much like in the last match between the two sides he made no mistake in slotting past Wickens.

The visitors dominated possession in the second half, making it difficult for County to reply, and so it was perhaps no surprise when Hibs took the lead in the 77th minute.

Jordan Obita put in an inch perfect cross for substitute Le Fondre, who duly converted at the back post.

There was one final twist in the tale though as, with practically the last kick of the ball, Dhanda announced his return from injury by finding the bottom corner.

Sydney FC remain on course for a third straight A-League Championship after beating Adelaide United 2-1 at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Saturday's semi-final.

Adelaide produced an upset by beating Brisbane Roar in the Elimination Finals but could not replicate that performance in their semi-final with Sydney.

Adam Le Fondre was on target when the sides met in the regular season last month and converted from the penalty spot to put the hosts ahead in Saturday's clash.

Brazilian striker Bobo added a second before half-time and the Sky Blues held on, despite Le Fondre's penalty miss and Juande's stunning strike to set up a nervy finish.

The home team were awarded a  24th-minute penalty for James Delianov's challenge on Kosta Barbarouses, with Le Fondre sending the goalkeeper the wrong way from 12 yards.

Bobo doubled his side's advantage with a sliding first-time shot to round off a well-crafted move just before the break.

It looked like being plain sailing for Sydney when Javi Lopez took out Barbarouses in the box, but Le Fondre's penalty was saved by Delianov and that sparked an Adelaide revival.

Tomi Juric's free-kick hit the Sydney wall but Juande thumped in the loose ball from 20 yards with a little over 25 minutes still to play.

Thomas Heward-Belle was required to keep out efforts from Juric and Jordan Elsey, but Sydney held on to reach their third final in a row and a fifth in seven years.

Melbourne City and Macarthur FC meet in the other semi-final on Sunday.

Adam Le Fondre scored twice as Sydney FC fired a warning to the rest of the A-League top-six challengers with a 4-1 win over Adelaide United.

The Reds could have drawn level with Sydney in second place in the table with a victory but were firmly out of the contest even before Jordan Elsey was sent off with 63 minutes played.

Le Fondre's superb header from Rhyan Grant's cross put the visitors ahead at Coopers Stadium after just six minutes, and the experienced striker spurned a good chance for a second before the break.

Stefan Mauk hit the post for Adelaide early in the second half and Le Fondre compounded their frustrations two minutes later, burying his second after James Delianov had denied Kosta Barbarouses.

Le Fondre then turned provider, crossing low from the right to present Bobo with a simple finish, the goal given after a VAR review saw an initial offside call correctly overturned.

Elsey, who was arguably fortunate to receive only a yellow card for a two-footed tackle on Bobo in the first half, earned his second booking when he brought down Anthony Caceres.

Teenager Patrick Wood scored a minute after coming off the bench after a positive run, with Yaya Dukuly's first A-League goal at the end of a slick move providing little consolation to Adelaide, who saw an eight-game home unbeaten run come to an end.

Sydney are now four points behind leaders Melbourne City, having played a game more.

Central Coast Mariners and Sydney both recorded slender away victories over Newcastle Jets and Western United respectively in Saturday's A-League action.

Sydney briefly moved up to second in the table after an Adam Le Fondre penalty – his first goal since returning to the club - secured them a 1-0 triumph on their visit to Mars Stadium.

Referee Shaun Evans deemed Ivan Vujica had handled inside the penalty area and pointed to the spot, the official confirming his initial decision after a lengthy VAR check.

United goalkeeper Ryan Scott had kept Sydney at bay up until that point but was unable to deny Le Fondre, who is back after a spell with Mumbai City in India.

However, Central Coast leapfrogged back over Sydney in the standings thanks to a 1-0 win of their own in the late kick-off.

A penalty settled the game at McDonald Jones Stadium too, Matt Simon on target in the 54th minute as the Mariners recorded back-to-back wins over the Jets for the first time since October 2014.

Simon has now scored nine A-League goals against Newcastle - only against Melbourne Victory (10) has he managed more in his career.