Robbie Feeney was the star of the show as the Armadale Thistle striker netted all four goals in their away win over Livingston United, writes Kieran Polland.
The two sides couldn’t be separated in a keenly contested opening 45 minutes but the Jags hitman ran riot after the break to ensure the visitors picked up all three points - and he took home the match ball.
It was the home side who started brightest with Bradley Rixon’s cross falling straight to the feet of Jason Gregory, but his shot was saved well by Connor Shaw in the Armadale goal.
Gregory once again threatened to open the scoring a few minutes later only for his long-range shot to fly harmlessly over the crossbar.
United then missed a golden chance to take the lead when Chris Kelly managed to nick the ball off Shaw’s feet but when he squared the ball to Rixon, the centre forward only managed to sky the ball with the open net waiting to be rippled.
Armadale managed to creep back into the game but both sides were struggling to come to grips with the pitch as the rain and mud prevented final balls of any real quality from being produced.
The second half began in the same fashion, but Feeney put an end to the deadlock in the 56th minute with an impressive strike on the edge of the box, leaving Livi stopper Aedan Houston with little chance of saving his curling shot.
The hosts refused to lie down and showed good resilience in plugging away at the visitors with Gregory once again denied a goal, this time for a last-ditch clearance off the line.
But the Station Park side were left to rue their wastefulness in front of goal when Feeney struck again.
Armadale charged on the counter and Stuart MacLeod was able to round Houston before squaring to Feeney to tap into an empty net in the 66th minute.
Feeney secured his hat-trick in the 74th minute when a whipped cross found the striker in the perfect position for him to find the net.
Livi felt aggrieved as their midfielder David Cane was being treated at the time of the goal.
Further misery was heaped upon the home side when Gregory was unfortunate to have handled in the ball while lying on the ground during a stramash inside the box.
That allowed Feeney to slot away his fourth goal from the penalty spot 13 minutes from time to complete the scoring.
The victory sees Armadale remain in second position in the East of Scotland Conference X table ahead of this weekend’s enticing match-up at home to fourth-placed Whitburn.
Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/newsletter-preference-centre/
