Livingston boss David Martindale said his side 'looked back to our best' following a 2-1 home win over Hamilton that confirmed their place in the top-six.
A wonder-strike from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, reminiscent of Thierry Henry's against Manchester United some 21 years ago for Arsenal, saw the Lions take a 16th minute lead at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
Accies, in a relegation dogfight and heading into the clash with just one loss in six, drew level through Callum Smith on the half hour mark. The striker netted his second goal of the season in fine fashion as he collected the ball in space before unleashing a 25-yarder that fizzed into the bottom corner.
Parity only lasted six minutes, though, as Scott Pittman netted what proved to be the winner. Nicky Devlin, who had also assisted for Emmanuel-Thomas, saw his cross find its way to the midfielder following a poor touch by Hamilton defender Lee Hodson. The 28-year-old bundled the ball home from close range beyond Ryan Fulton.
Chances would be few and far between for the remainder of the contest despite plenty of effort from both sides. Ross Callachan dragged a shot wide in the latter stages before substitute Josh Mullin rattled the bar from the edge of the box for the hosts, who clinched their first win in seven.
A delighted Martindale said: "The cup final defeat had a knock-on effect on us but we looked back to our best today.
“As the game went on and we knew we were guaranteed top six we passed the ball about. We could have scored a few more but the objective was top six and we have done that.
“It is a marathon not a sprint so we can forget about the last three or four games."
He added: "This is an unbelievable effort from the club. We are a team in transition, we are actually a very good footballing team and you will see that from us.
“Even in the Rangers game, the bigger matches, the boys rise to the occasion so I am just delighted we have
finished in the top six.
“The next games we will be playing against the best teams in the country, it is fantastic.”
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