Livingston star Joel Nouble ends 22-game goal drought and targets league strikes

Livingston striker Joel Nouble ended his 22-game goal drought and insisted he is willing to shoulder the pressure in the Lions’ Premiership survival battle.

The Englishman – who looked set to leave the club in the transfer window last month only for a proposed move to Exeter City to fall through – ended his barren spell by bagging a brace in a dramatic comeback win over Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup last weekend.

Nouble netted as the Lions roared back from 2-0 down to grab an extra-time winner through Tete Yengi and set up a quarter-final tie away to holders Celtic.

But attention returns to league business this weekend with Saturday’s trip to St Mirren and Nouble will be keen to taking his scoring form into the league, where he is yet to score this term.

Nouble, who netted his first goals since August, says he is focused on clawing the Lions off the bottom of the table and is happy to have expectation on his shoulders.

The 28-year-old said: “I always have confidence in myself.

“Up until now, we’ve played a couple of different formations and the formation we are playing now [4-3-3] will get the best out of me.

“That’s what I was doing last season [scoring goals] so I have a lot of self-belief and I know if I do well, it helps the team.

“I will take the pressure of this situation on my shoulders. Hopefully that comes with goals and assists and helps us win games.

“In the camp we have a lot of belief and we will go out fighting.”

With six points still separating Livi from bottom side Ross County, Nouble says they must use their cup heroics to boost their league form after a run of 16 games without a win.

On their comeback at Partick, he said: “I felt like I helped out a bit by getting the goals, but credit to the boys