Jacobs grateful for penalty save which helped Livi roar over Third Division finishing line

Apr 22 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

Jacobs grateful for penalty save which helped Livi roar over Third Division finishing line

KEAGHAN JACOBS may have been the only Livi player not to be too upset at taking so long to secure the title – because it meant he was able to play his part in clinching the league crown.

Livi are champs with three games to spare and no one has played a bigger part than Jacobs but he has been forced to sit on the sidelines recently after a collar-bone injury at the start of the month.

He missed subsequent matches against Forfar and Berwick before returning at the weekend and he admits he was bursting as gut to play his part on the day they won the league.

“I’ve been itching to get back into the team ever since I got injured,” he confessed.

“I missed a couple of matches but I’m glad I managed to get back fit for the day we won the league.

“I can’t even describe how I’m feeling right now and it is amazing to finally be champions.

“We had a wee scare at the end but we managed to get through it.

“It is a great day for us and we are all celebrating. The pressure is off now and, hopefully, that will allow us just to enjoy our football until the end of the season.

“I don’t know what has happened to us in the past few weeks as I don’t think we’ve playing the standard of football we normally do.

“But the most important thing is we are across the line now although it has taken us a few extra matches than we expected.”

And it may have taken Jacobs even longer to get his hands on the title had the late drama at Almondvale gone in Berwick’s favour.

When the referee revealed there was only 60 seconds of regulation time left to play, Jacobs began to dream of seeing Livingston crowned champs.

But suddenly the dream became a nightmare as whistler Anthony Law awarded a dramatic last-minute penalty to the visitors.

Jacobs knew a Berwick goal would postpone Livingston’s title party again but keeper Roddy McKenzie made the save to the delight of the 20-year-old midfielder.

He said: “Literally, two seconds before the penalty, the ref had told me we had a minute plus stoppages to play.

“So I was absolutely gutted when the ref pointed to the spot, as I knew it was almost the end.

“But Roddy pulled us out of a hole and we have gone on to win the league.”

Livingston have clinched promotion at the first time of asking and Jacobs reckons a second successive promotion isn’t beyond them.

He added: “We have a good team and players with great ability, so I believe we have every chance to go on and do well in the Second Division if we manage to keep the core of the squad together.”