Comeback man Martin Boyle’s last gasp strike was enough to salvage a point and spare Hibs the shame of going bottom of the Premiership .
But whether it’s enough to ease the pressure on boss Paul Heckingbottom remains to be seen with the club’s major shareholder Ron Gordon jetting in to watch this huge fright unfold before his eyes.
The American business magnate, who took ownership of the club in the summer, is ostensibly here to take in Saturday’s Betfred Cup semi-final against Celtic.
But he could yet be required to conduct other, more serious business, if the champions inflict a serious beating on a Hibs side who once again showed their weakness with a limp collapse just before half-time.
Two goals in three minutes against a Livingston side who were as gutsy and dangerous on the break as always, it took a great escape after the break to save their skins.
Steven Lawless, enjoying far too much time and space on the right edge of their area, let rip a low drive helped along by a deflection off Paul Hanlon that steered it beyond wrong-footed Chris Maxwell and inside the far post.
That one had a tinge of rough luck, but to sloppily concede another goal within three minutes was absolutely unforgivable. And this Easter Road crowd are in no mood to forgive their under pressure boss right now.
Again the anger came from Hibs being too slow to react and too meek to properly clear their box and Craig Sibbald was only too happy to make the most of his space near the penalty spot, curling a clinical finish to the fury of the home support.
Scott Allan’s penalty looked to be falling agonisingly short for the home side until Boyle struck deep in injury time to mark his return from the knee injury that has sidelined him since July.
Livi will curse Scott Tiffoney’s missed sitter with 15 minutes remaining that should have put the game to bed.
But despite their late get out of jail card, the home side were still booed off the pitch - making it abundantly clear that Heckingbottom is far from out of the woods yet.
