TENSE TANNADICE DRAW

A tense night at Tannadice in front of a packed crowd ended goalless, meaning everything now rests on the 2nd leg in Paisley on Sunday. It was the hosts who created the clearer openings, particularly in the first half, but there was little between the teams with what is now a one match shoot out looking like being every bit as tight. 

By Ally Stewart

As was to be expected given the occasion, there were nerves on show from both sides early on however it was the hosts who created the clearest opportunities.The first opening came in the 5th minute when an incisive ball from Rachid Bouhenna found Paul McMullan in space down the right flank. He played a ball into the feet of Osman Sow, who held up well before laying back to the winger. A neat pass inside set up Ian Harkes 8 yards out and his shot was on target but deflected for a corner off a St Mirren defender. Visiting goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky was forced into a save in the 21st minute, after the pace of McMullan saw him ghost past Mihai Popescu in pursuit of a through ball from Nicky Clark, with a low drive from inside the box blocked by the goalkeepers legs.The visitors enjoyed more possession inside the United half as half time approached, and Kyle McAllister forced a great save from Siegrist, who touched his curling left foot shot away from goal as it looked to be heading towards the top corner. The last action of the first half saw Bouhenna try his luck with a long range free kick however despite being on target, Hladky was able to save comfortably. 

There was a scare for the hosts almost straight from kick off when a deep cross was headed back into the 6-yard box by Lee Hodson and Kyle Magennis prodded toward goal, thwarted only by the instinctive reactions of Siegrist. The home side responded quickly and a low ball across the face of goal by Clark had no takers, before McMullan caused panic in the visitors’ defence twice in quick succession from each side of the box with deliveries that were cleared. This spurred the Tangerine faithful on and there was a warm welcome for Pavol Safranko as he entered the fray with half an hour left, replacing Sow.  From a corner the striker headed towards the far post but the St Mirren defence were able to clear. Keeper Hladky then came too far to try and take a deep free kick from the right, and when the ball was headed back across goal only an acrobatic clearance by Ryan Flynn stopped Peter Pawlett from heading in. The latter stages of the game saw both sides struggle at times to maintain possession, with no clear chances created as a result. As late as the final minute there was one last chance for the hosts to take an advantage into the 2nd leg, and but for a last ditch challenge from Gary Mackenzie, Safranko may have scored from close range after Hladky had initially parried out a low Jamie Robson cross.

United: Siegrist, Robson, Reynolds, Connolly, Watson, Pawlett (Booth 73), Bouhenna, Harkes, McMullan, Sow (Safranko 59) , Clark (Stanton 68). Subs not used: Laidlaw, Frans, C Smith, M Smith.

St Mirren: Hladky, P McGinn, S McGinn, MacKenzie, Magennis, Flynn, Baird, Popescu, Cooke (Mullen 90), Hodson, McAllister. Subs not used: Holmes, Muzek, Nazon, MacPherson, Ferdinand, Erhahon.

Man of the Match: It was a typically gutsy display throughout from Mark Connolly, who led from the back with determination, and on more than one occasion started attacking moves through some clever distribution. 

Attendance: 11,062

Referee: John Beaton