Livingston secured a dramatic 2-2 draw against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, with Scott Pittman netting a late equalizer. The result came after Kilmarnock had surrendered a two-goal lead, a situation manager Stuart Kettlewell attributed too a “really soft” red card shown to George Stanger.
Scott Pittman levels for Livingston with four minutes to play at Kilmarnock. Photograph: Jeff Holmes/Shutterstock
Kilmarnock had taken a commanding lead into halftime thanks to a brace from Djenairo Daniels and David Watson. However, the momentum shifted when Stanger was dismissed for impeding former Kilmarnock forward Robbie Muirhead, who converted the subsequent penalty. Livingston then capitalized on their numerical advantage, with Pittman finding the back of the net in the 86th minute to secure a share of the points.
Kettlewell expressed his dissatisfaction with the referee’s decision, stating, “I do have complaints about the red card. From my angle, from the technical area, I actually felt that Muirhead had the initial pull on George. If we deem both pulls the same, then is the foul earlier in the incident? But even at that, is George’s contact enough for Muirhead to go down in the fashion that he does? Is it a red card? We’ll all debate it, some will think it is indeed. I probably sit in the camp of it being soft, I feel it’s really, really soft.”
The match, played at Rugby Park, saw Kilmarnock unable to hold onto their early advantage, ultimately resulting in a draw against the newly promoted Livingston side. The incident involving Stanger and Muirhead proved to be a pivotal moment in the game.
