Late Scottish football play-off drama as VAR intervene for penalty as staff member 'spat at' in aftermath

It appeared that Livingston would take a slender lead to Dingwall on Monday night after Danny Wilson fired the Lions into a 1-0 lead on the stroke of half time, but the defender turned from hero to villain deep into added-on time in the second period when he conceded a penalty for pulling Jordan White’s shirt.

Referee John Beaton was summoned to the VAR monitor by the officiating team back at Clydesdale House and after a quick review, decided to award a penalty. Hale stepped up and smashed the ball beyond Livi keeper Jerome Prior to force a draw.

The goal sparked unsavoury scenes behind the Ross County dugout, with a home fan confronting members of the Staggies management team and a claim that one was spat at. A clearly irate County boss Don Cowie was seen trying to sort out the situation and asking stewards to intervene.

The concession of the penalty to Hale was a bitter pill to swallow for Livingston, who more than matched the Premiership side. Having conceded just three goals in the past ten Championship matches, they looked see out another clean sheet before Wilson’s costly moment.

The experienced former Rangers and Hearts defender had played well alongside Ryan McGowan, but he held on to White’s shirt in the third minute of stoppage time. While the penalty award was on the softer side, his actions gave Beaton and Co a decision to make.

Wilson has say on penalty

“I was trying to make contact with the cross,” said Wilson on the penalty award. “I’ve seen it back and I’ve got a bit of his shirt but I think it’s a bit soft. I can see why he’s given it.”

Wilson’s centre-half sidekick McGowan added: “We’re a bit disappointed. I thought we did enough to win the game. But if we keep a clean sheet next week then I think we’ll do enough to get through the tie.”

At the other end, Wilson had drilled home the opener on 45 minutes when County failed to deal with a corner. Robbie Muirhead spurned some presentable opportunities for Livingston, while at the other end, Prior made some good saves, clawing away a header off his own goal-line early on.

County, however, struggled to pose much of a threat to Livingston and will therefore will be in far greater spirits than the Lions when they head back up the A9. The second leg on Monday (8pm) in the Highlands promises to be an engrossing affair. Livingston have already won in Dingwall in the Scottish Cup this season and will still fancy their chances of recovering and securing promotion to the top flight.

County manager Cowie said on the game. “It was everything I expected, a really difficult game. We started well and then they came into it. We conceded a really sloppy goal and as always, that changes momentum. But we kept going and Ronan shows unbelievable composure. It leaves the tie very evenly matched.”

On the incident with the fan at the end, Cowie added: “Look, emotions are high at that point. The home fan’s obviously disappointed, frustrated. Being part of football for a long time, you can accept people coming over and saying a few things, it’s part of it. But one of the Livingston fans overstepped by the mark by spitting in one of the members of our staff’s face.

“There’s no place for that anywhere in life. To see it so close up, that’s why our staff were so frustrated. You want to protect your own. That was a disappointing end. The authorities have been really good, they were right on case. I’m sure they’ll take action as required.”