Ayo Obileye’s late header secured victory for Livingston in a breathless and at times bad-tempered Scottish Premiership tie against Hibernian.

The hosts dominated the remainder of the first-half but Hibs hit back five minutes into the second when Nohan Kenneh nodded in from close range.

Both sides pushed for a winner, but it was Obileye who found it when he rose unmarked at the back-post.

David Martindale and Lee Johnson were both booked during a second half which had its fair share of flash points, with referee Craig Napier doing extremely well to keep things from boiling over completely.

Livingston now leapfrog their visitors in the table, climbing up to fourth.

It was Livingston who came flying out the traps in a baking hot West Lothian. It didn’t look like there was much on when Nouble received a square ball in the Hibs’ half, but he made a dart for the goal, dancing past Paul Hanlon to put himself one-on-one before finishing off the post.

The big striker almost made it two when he robbed Chris Cadden in a dangerous area, slipping the ball past Ryan Porteous and bearing down on goal – but David Marshall was able to get a hand to it this time.

At half-time, Hibs had only had one shot on goal and didn’t look like scoring. Five minutes into the second-half, they had. A corner was whipped in, pinballing around the Livingston six-yard box before cannoning off the head of Elie Youan, straight to Kenneh who nodded in at the back-post.

That goal, and Boyle’s introduction at half-time, boosted the visitors’ confidence and they pinned Livingston into their own box for the next half-hour. Boyle would also go down in the Livi area at one point, but the referee waved away his shout.

Martindale’s claim that the Hibs winger dived infuriated his opposite number Johnson, and referee Napier stopped the game to show yellows to both managers. It was kicking off on the pitch, too. Porteous twice had to be hauled away from a Livingston mob.

Nouble and substitute Bruce Anderson started to link up as Livingston threatened a winner – but it was centre-back Ayo Obileye who got it, nodding in unmarked at the back-post from a curled free-kick.

Hibs wouldn’t lie down, though. Youan forced a fantastic save from Shamal George with a fiery shot from the edge of the box, and Momodou Bojang squandered a huge opportunity when Boyle squared, but the Gambian striker skied his shot over the bar in Hibs’ final chance for an equaliser.

Man of the Match – Joel Nouble

Lively in West Lothian as Lions find late winner

The epitome of a game of two-halves, but what a game it was.

It really had it all. A fantastic first half from Livingston, a spirited second-half from Hibs, chances and challenges aplenty.

Livi were magnificent prior to the break. Jason Holt and Stephane Omeonga were terrier-like and Nouble ran riot up top.

But Hibs hit back well in the second half. They look a completely different side with Martin Boyle. Their confidence was non-existent before the winger came on, but as soon as he was introduced there was a feeling they could score with any attack.

The late winner summed up Martindale’s Livingston side, though. Entertaining and gritty in equal measure. They’re great value.

What they said

Livingston boss David Martindale: “I couldn’t guarantee anything. I knew last year we had enough. Do I think we do this year? Of course I do. I’m not going to say I can guarantee, but I’m 99.9% sure. I need to give myself a bit of room here.

“The boys are capable of going on and having a fantastic season, but we need to be bang at it every game. We’ve not got any superstars in our team. The superstar in our team is the collective, not the individual.

“I’m still trying to cool down and bring my heart rate back down.”

Hibernian manager Lee Johnson: “I was just disappointed in two or three of our lads, athletically and mentally, going into the game. It’s being able to be at your best when it matters most. You’ve got to be the best player at 0-0. It’s easier to be a good player at 1-0 down.

“There’s some good players out there who didn’t do enough today, it’s as simple as that.”

What’s next?

Livingston travel to Motherwell next Saturday (15:00) as Hibernian host Rangers at Easter Road (12:30).