Mixed fortunes in cup finals for West Lothian clubs

The 2021/22 season ended in contrasting fashions for Livingston United and Linlithgow Rose at the weekend as the King Cup and East of Scotland Cup final were played.

Livingston United missed out on a maiden King Cup title in controversial fashion as they were edged out 1-0 by Heriot-Watt University in the final, writes Callum McCormack.

The tie, played at Whitburn’s Central Park ground, was goalless after 90 minutes.

And with United skipper Hassan Nyang having seen red, Campbell Marr made the numerical advantage count by netting the only goal in the 105th minute.

Both Nyang’s dismissal and the winning goal sparked fierce remonstrations from United players and staff as the Station Park men fell short of lifting the trophy.

A tense first half produced few chances for either side, with the first real effort not coming until the half hour mark when United’s Danny Kleinman almost capitalised on Alex McMahon’s dithering on the ball but saw his effort cleared off the line.

Two minutes later, the Students went close for the first time as a scramble in the box led to Chris Ashley palming a Josh Wishart poked effort onto the post.

Before half-time Livingston had the best chance to take the lead.

Chris Kelly’s well-worked cross was met by Michael Gould six yards out but the unmarked striker was unable to get enough purchase on his glancing header as the ball flashed wide.

The game’s first controversial moment arrived three minutes after the break when Nyang was shown a red card after being adjudged to have denied a goalscoring opportunity when he brought Russell Cairns down outside the box.

That gave Heriot-Watt renewed vigour and they began to take control of proceedings, only to be met by a sturdy United defence marshalled by