Gale-force action as Livingston storm back for a point against Cowdenbeath

With horrendous weather greeting the players, Marc McKenzie bundled in an early opener for the home side in a turgid first half, but after the break Livi levelled through Stefan Scougall and both teams missed chances to take all three points.

McKenzie poked home in the six-yard box after Livi had failed to clear a corner in the first minute, and then Jesus Garcia Tena turned the ball against his own post as the hosts almost made it two.

The first 45 minutes were short on goalmouth action as both teams struggled to create openings, but Livi threw more men forward in the second half and the game surged into life in the closing 30 minutes.

Marc McNulty fired wide from the edge of the box for the West Lothian side, while McKenzie burst clear down the left for the hosts but skewed his low drive wide of the post.

The Lions worked a deserved leveller on 70 minutes when Liam Fox chipped a cross to the back post for Tony Andreu to head across goal, where Scougall tucked the ball into the bottom corner from five yards.

Gareth Evans’ men looked like they would further capitalise on their spell of dominance and the midfielder should have put Livi in front seven minutes later.

A move down the right teed up McNulty, who squared the ball across the six-yard line, but Scougall could only slide his shot wide. That miss seemed to galvanise Cowdenbeath and Thomas O’Brien hit the underside of the bar with a 20-yard shot before John Armstrong smacked the post with a header just a minute later. The play raged from end to end in ever-worsening conditions, with players on both sides finding space to cause problems.

Jordan Morton was denied the best opportunity with two minutes to go when he rounded goalkeeper Thomas Flynn, but Armstrong recovered to block on the line.