Heartbreak and joy for Aussies in Scotland play-off tie
It will be a long night of reflection for three Scottish-based Australians after the second leg of the Premiership play-off tie, with two celebrating as the other dreams of what could have been.
Midfielder Josh Nisbet and striker Tete Yengi lined up for their respective sides - Ross County and Livingston - and both scored in the final game of the season to decide which side either stayed in the top flight or was promoted to it.
Veteran Ryan McGowan, who wore the green and gold at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and is playing for his seventh club in Scotland during a much-travelled career, marshalled the Livingston defence in Dingwall on Monday night.
It's been a huge week for the 35-year-old, also from Adelaide like Yengi, who became a father to twin boys.
McGowan's manager David Martindale had full belief in his side after a 1-1 home draw last Thursday, but County were looking to avoid relegation to the Championship by winning the play-off for a third successive year.
Goals from Nisbet, a 2022/23 A-League champion during his time with the Central Coast Mariners, and Ronan Hale - who scored the last-gasp equaliser in the first leg - put the hosts 2-0 up after 24 minutes.
But Lewis Smith, Danny Wilson, Robbie Muirhead and Yengi, the 24-year old younger brother of Socceroos striker Kusini, all scored to earn Livi a 4-2 win and a 5-3 aggregate victory that clinched their place back in the top tier next season at the first attempt.
It leaves the 25-year-old Nisbet's future in limbo, unlikely to add to his three international caps from Scotland's second tier next season.
But he will still harbour hope, for now, of getting a call up from Socceroos boss Tony Popovic for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Yengi, a former Newcastle Jets forward who's played in England and Finland's lower leagues since September 2021, came off the bench on 72 minutes and sent the small band of visiting supporters delirious in the sixth minute of added time.
"It was a very good play-off game, one for the neutral," Martindale said.
"It was great come fulltime for Livingston and Livingston fans. We had massive belief in the players and ... I'm happy for them."
County manager Don Cowie was understandably disappointed as his side's six-year spell in Scotland's top flight came to an end.
"When you're winning the tie by two goals in the first half you should never have not seen it out," he said.
"Credit to Livingston. They put us under a lot of pressure and they deserved to get back to the Premiership."
With PA.
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