Cowdenbeath 4, Livingston 0.

SPFL Championship Attendance-420.

JUST the performance and result Cowdenbeath were needing to kick-start their three game bid to avoid the relegation play-offs.

Livi came to Central Park on Saturday still hopeful of making the promotion play-offs but they played second fiddle to Cowden for the entire 90 minutes.

The home line-up was given a complete overhaul with Thomas Flynn restored to the number one shirt and Darren Brownlie and Nat Wedderburn back in defence.

In midfield Chris Kane and Thomas O’Brien linked up with Lewis Milne and the revamp certainly worked.

Cowdenbeath defended very solidly throughout the game and skipper John Armstrong helped himself to a double as well as performing superbly at the back.

In the middle of the park the central trio worked very hard to ensure that the Blue Brazil were always in with a chance of scoring and in attack Kane Hemmings and Greg Stewart were back to their form of earlier in the season.

Stewart was a constant threat to Livi and he laid on a peach of a cross for Armstrong’s second goal while Hemmings took his double in a clinical fashion.

It was a performance which will have given the Blues’ fans hope that their favourites can pull off the great escape.

Cowden threatened in the second minute when a long throw from Rory McKeown was flicked on by Hemmings and Derek Jamieson bravely punched the ball out from underneath his bar.

At the other end almost immediately Craig Sives saw his raking 25 yarder deflected for a corner by Brownlie.

Jamieson had to be on the alert in 10 minutes when Wedderburn’s long pass was heading towards Hemmings and the ‘keeper raced from his line to deny the striker.

In the 18th minute Stewart was fouled on the edge of the Livi box and home skipper Armstrong saw Jamieson make a fine block from his low free-kick.

Then in 23 minutes Marc McNulty got away from the home defence and Flynn had to save at full stretch.

Six minutes from the break the Livi front man eluded Armstrong but hurried his shot and blazed wide.

On the interval whistle the home side went ahead. McKeown’s corner went fast across the face of the Livi goal and ARMSTRONG met it perfectly and his 10 yard header flew low past Jamieson.

Then four minutes into the second period the Blues doubled their advantage. As the Livi defence appealed for off-side HEMMINGS ran clean through and calmly thumped the ball into the net from 12 yards out.

Six minutes later Milne’s low 12 yarder hit Chris Sives on the edge of the six yard box and roared just wide.

But in 65 minutes they went three ahead. Milne’s lovely pass sent HEMMINGS away from his marker and he gave the Livi ‘keeper no chance from 14 yards out.

Then in 72 minutes came the fourth. Stewart beat two defenders and put over a perfect cross and ARMSTRONG was lying perfect to head home from close in.

There were other chances in the closing minutes as both Armstrong and Hemmings went for their hat-tricks but the home side had done enough to collect all three points.

Cowdenbeath: Thomas Flynn (7); Dean Brett (7), Rory McKeown (7) (Kenny Adamson 83 (2); Darren Brownlie (7) (Jamie Stevenson 77 (3), John Armstrong (9), Nat Wedderburn (8); Lewis Milne (7), Thomas O’Brien (7), Kane Hemmings (8) (Craig Johnston 83 (2), Greg Stewart (7), Chris Kane (7). Subs not used, Jordan Morton, David Gold, Kyle Miller and Seb Usai.

Livingston: Jamieson (7); Kyle Jacobs (6), Mampuya (6) (Lander 69 (3)); Wilkie (5) (Keaghan Jacobs 69 (3), Fordyce (6), O’Brien (5); Mevlja (6) (Talbot 69 (3)), Scott (5), Burchill (5), McNulty (6), Sives (6). Subs not used, Beaumont, Denholm, Praprotnik and Walker.

Referee-George Salmond (6).