Ten-man Aberdeen held Livingston to a goalless draw at Almondvale to hold onto their two-point lead in third place of the table.

But the Dons' task was made all the more difficult by the dismissal of Darren Young in the first half.

Livingston had spent the best part of the season nestled comfortably behind Celtic and Rangers in third place in the table and praise flowed for a side who were experiencing their first ever campaign in the Scottish Premier League.

For weeks that slot in the table looked secure, along with the coveted UEFA Cup berth that comes with the lofty achievement of being the top team in Scotland outwith the Old Firm.

But just as the finish line was beginning to come into sight for the ambitious Almondvale side, a run of poor results saw their grip on third place start to slip.

Just one point from their last five league games meant Aberdeen's aspirations of leapfrogging Livingston became a reality and they headed into the game at the West Lothian Courier Stadium two points ahead of their hosts.

For Livingston, the game provided the ideal opportunity to reclaim third place in the league but a win for the Dons could mean Livi praying for an Old Firm Scottish Cup final to ensure the remaining European place goes to the fourth-placed team in the league.

As though to emphasise the importance of this clash, the pace of the game was fast and furious right from the outset in front of a packed house, which included a large number of travelling supporters who had made the long trip from the north east.

The game also had its fair share of heated moments and the Dons found themselves down to 10 men after 33 minutes when Darren Young picked up his second yellow card for his second challenge on Spanish striker David Fernandez.

The sending-off proved to be the main talking point of a first half which lacked goals from either side.

The home side could have taken the lead after just four minutes when a Francisco Quino cross was expertly met by Barry Wilson but the Livi player nodded straight into the hands of Dons goalkeeper Peter Kjaer.

At the other end of the park Robbie Winters had two decent opportunities to give Aberdeen the lead.

His first, after 30 minutes, was an unsuccessful attempt to chip the ball over goalkeeper Javier Sanchez Broto.

The second was a weak effort that was easily blocked by the Livi defence and it was left to Darren Young - before his dismissal - to prompt the Livingston goalkeeper to break into a sweat with a rebound effort that fell just inches wide of the upright.

The home side enjoyed the first chance of the second half when Fernandez produced an impressive shot just two minutes after the restart but Kjaer managed to conjure up an equally impressive save to keep the scoreline level.

The Dons should have taken the lead when the ball broke to Leon Mike just outside the six-yard box after 53 minutes but Broto - who had raced off his line - stood his ground and managed to block the shot with his arm.

Tempers flared as the game progressed and the referee was called upon to prevent Derek Young confronting Fernandez after an initial challenge by the Dons player.

His name was added to Clark's book to bring the crime count for the game to seven yellow cards and a dismissal.

The best chance of the game so far fell to Livingston after 73 minutes when Sherif touched the ball on to Fernandez and he unleashed a powerful shot which smacked off the crossbar to deny the home side the opener.

Livingston were unlucky to have a penalty claim ignored four minutes later.

Fernandez played a corner kick out to Oscar Rubio on the 18-yard line - his shot was blocked but Didier Santini tried to follow up inside the six-yard box.

He appeared to be brought down by the Aberdeen goalkeeper but the referee opted not to give the spot kick.

The home side were screaming for a penalty again with just six minutes remaining when Bingham claimed he was pushed in the box by Phil McGuire but once again Clark was not impressed.

Teams:

Livingston: Broto, Petersen, Santini, Rubio, Andrews, Wilson, Makel (Bingham 45), Quino, Lovell (Toure-Maman 69), Fernandez, Xausa (Caputo 78).

Subs Not Used: McEwan, Tosh.

Booked: Makel, Rubio, Quino.

Aberdeen: Kjaer, Anderson, Whyte, McGuire, McNaughton, Winters (Tiernan 70), Darren Young, Bisconti, Derek Young, Mackie, Mike (Dadi 86).

Subs Not Used: Esson, Thornley, Rutkiewicz.

Sent Off: Darren Young (35).

Booked: Darren Young, Anderson.

Att: 9,449

Ref: K Clark (Scotland).