Right from the off it was clear that PL were up against a talented side as Livingston were using the ball cleverly with their big pack going through the phases and their backs not afraid to get it wide at every opportunity.

When PL did have the ball, their simple game plan seemed to be working and some hard, straight running got them into the Livingston 22 where they won a penalty. Full Back, Lee Binmore stepped up and was unfortunate to clip the paint of the outside of the post.

Almost immediately Livingston showed how dangerous they could be and a combination of hard rucking and a solid off-loading game got them into the PL half. With the PL defence on the back foot, gaps soon appeared and the men from West Lothian got the ball wide to their winger in lots of space and he scored out wide. The conversion was missed but Livingston had the lead at 5-0.

PL huffed and puffed their way up the pitch again and had another penalty opportunity but an almost identical kick from Binmore drifted just wide.

Livingston continued to apply lots of pressure and could have added to their lead on several occasions but some great cover tackling by the PL defence kept them out.

Half Time PL 0 Livi 5

Coach Stuart Thomson asked for a bit more from his team in the 2nd half and they delivered. Needing a spark to get them going PL came through immediately. After collecting the kick off and setting up a good ruck, stand off Cammy McSorley brought winger Simon Blair into the line. The big winger got through the first line of defence and then put the after burners to leave the covering full-back and winger for dust to touch down under the posts. Binmore’s extras gave PL a 7-5 lead.

PL now looked the tougher side and were immediately back into the Livingston half. The forwards were going through phase play and scrum half Cammy Simpson was always there looking for gaps. When space opened up on the blind side hooker Ryan Clark put winger Ben Thomson into space and he was put into touch inches from the line. From the ensuing line-out Jordan McDonald stole the ball and the forwards took charge and set up a maul which resulted in Clark touching down.

Minutes later PL were on the front foot again and in an almost identical move down the blind side winger Thomson had the ball in space and this time got round the full back to score in the corner. This put PL 17-5 up but there was still 25 minutes to play.

Pl went on the search for a further score to put the game away but Livingston had other ideas. They began to throw the ball wide again and made several line breaks but some great cover tackling and a little luck kept them out. PL had their chances as well but the Livingston defence held strong.

With 5 minutes to go, Livingston eventually got themselves back into the game. Their forwards and backs combined to get field position in the PL 22 and when the defence were penalised 5 metres from their line a quick tap found a forward with some space in front of him to score. Livingston pushed for another score that might have tied the game but the defence held out.

A fantastic performance by the PL team in the 2nd half in particular kept their unbeaten home record intact.

Team –

15. L Binmore 14. S Blair 13. J Brown 12. R Brown 11. B Thomson 10. C McSorley 9. C Simpson 8. C Law (c) 7. J McDonald 6. C Pryce 5. S Jones 4. A Vince 3. A Cherry 2. R Clark 1. P Dixon

16. E Baker 17. J Lofaldli