Livingston Women's boss 'proud' of display as Lionesses grab first home SWPL2 win

Livingston Women's boss Mike Ross said he was 'proud' of his team's performance after they picked up their first SWPL2 home victory, defeating Gartcairn 3-1 on Sunday.

Livi controlled much of the early stages but were unable to find the breakthrough until the 28th minute when a Beth McKay corner-kick made its way to skipper Natasha Frew on the edge of the box. Her effort on goal was turned beyond Katie Andrews by Jess Murphy for the opener.

The hosts were able to find a second goal before the break when a wonderful 10-pass move led to Courtney McAvoy threading a pass through to Erin Burns with the winger finding the bottom corner with an angled drive.

Gartcairn reduced the deficit just two minutes into the second half when a defensive error was pounced on by Megan Wands, who duly rolled the ball home. But Livi answered back immediately with Burns slamming home her second, beating Andrews at the near post, after being sent clear down the right flank by Raewyn Murphy.

The Lionesses saw out the remainder of the contest to make it four games unbeaten as they head into the break, with their next fixture being October 8 away to Queen's Park.

Speaking to the West Lothian Courier, Ross said: "I'm proud of the performance and the effort, and proud of the fact that we were able to get our first home win. We knew it was going to be a difficult game, and that's how it turned out. They're a solid team.

"We got the goals at the right times and, although it was frustrating to lose a goal, it showed great character to get one back immediately. That speaks volumes about the team - it was just focus, reset and go again after conceding that goal."

He added: "We know we're dangerous from set-pieces and that's how we got the first goal and