Livingston 1 Falkirk 0: David Martindale hails 'Premiership' performance from his Lions in top of the table crunch

Livingston boss David Martindale hailed a 'Premiership' performance from his Lions after they downed Falkirk to cut the gap from their rivals at the top of the Championship to just three points.

And now he says the result will make teams stand up and take notice of their title credentials.

The pressure was on the West Lothian side knowing the Bairns could march nine points clear with a win at Almondvale, but Tete Yengi's stunning 25-yard strike was enough to earn a 1-0 win that hauls Livi right back into the battle at the top.

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Martindale said: “Hopefully now people maybe take us a wee bit seriously because I think we’ve kind of flown under the radar. I understand that but I think there’s been a wee bit of disrespect to us. I’ve not read anyone saying Livingston.

“It’s been Falkirk or Partick or Ayr. But that’s us. We’ve lost one game of football in 14.

“Falkirk have been really clinical. They’ve turned the draws that we’ve had into wins. But it was really, really solid. I think it was a Premiership performance. I don’t think Falkirk managed to string any more than four or five passes together in our half.

"I thought it was a very accomplished performance. The whole group was very good. That was probably one of the best games the back four has had."

Livi are now four points clear of third-place Ayr and six ahead of fourth-place Partick Thistle, but Martindale insists it is far from a two-horse race.

He added: “I think it’s a good title race, but do I believe it’s just us and Falkirk? No. You’d be stupid to predict who you think is going to be top four.

“Falkirk have set the standard. We’ve just put a wee bit of pressure on them. That’s all we’ve done. I don’t think it was a title-defining game."