First Team
TEAM NEWS | PARTICK THISTLE (H)
3rd May 2024
DUNDEE UNITED 5
DUNDEE 0
CINCH RESERVE LEAGUE CUP
14:00 TUESDAY 24TH JANUARY
GUSSIE PARK
It was derby day in the city of Dundee for the first time since April as United B and Dundee went head-to-head in Group One of the cinch Reserve League Cup.
Line-Up
Coaching duo Brian Grant and Andy Payne named three changes to the side which suffered the first defeat of the League Cup campaign against Hibernian, as Declan Glass, Finn Robson and Bryan Mwangi made way for Mathew Cudjoe, Sadat Anaku and Archie Meekison.
3-4-3 was the system preferred in possession with the wing-backs instructed to push forward allowing wingers Miller Thomson and Mathew Cudjoe to invert, whilst United dropped into a compact 4-4-2 without the ball.
Midfield pairing Craig Moore and Meekison were allowed licence to roam forward if appropriate cover supported. The latter made an early venture forward, underlapping Flynn Duffy and sending a menacing delivery into the area which appeared to strike the arm of Jack Wilkie but the officials turned a blind eye.
Duffy posed a potent attacking threat down the left throughout the first half, combining sharply with fellow left-sided Academy graduate Thomson to work the ball around Dundee’s press. The 19-year-old picked out Sadat in the middle with an early cross, but his Ugandan colleague failed to work the ‘keeper with his headed effort.
One-Way-Traffic
A frantic stramash in the area followed when Sadat intelligently nodded Meekison’s deep cross into the danger zone rather than going for goal, and only a vital block from Luke Graham in the six-yard box prevented Layton Bisland from opening the scoring. The scraps sat up perfectly for Cudjoe who pulled the trigger first time, but Euan Mutale thwarted his opposite number with a sliding block.
Sadat perhaps tried to be too unselfish on 18 minutes after a deflected Cudjoe cross on the counter made its way to the striker on the penalty spot. He sent a defender sprawling to the floor with a skilful feint before attempting to tee up Duffy making up ground from deep but found his pass intercepted.
Brilliant Breakthrough
After 24 minutes of complete dominance from the Terrors, the breakthrough eventually came courtesy of Meekison.
Adam Hutchinson strolled out of defence only to be dispossessed by Ross Clark, but Meekison reacted quickest to make a vital recovery challenge. The midfielder then drove forward into the centre-circle, playing a neat one-two with Thomson before waltzing through three further despairing Dundee challenges and into the box.
Faced up by Dundee stopper Thomas Welsh, Meekison kept his composure to execute a tidy finish into the far corner and notch his second Dundee United B goal of the season.
United continued to find line-breaking joy against a disorganised Dundee press, and this time Darren Watson managed to evade the aggressive advances of the visitors' midfield as he flicked the ball round the corner to Cudjoe in space behind the wing-back. The diminutive Ghanaian dribbled into the 18-yard box and slid a low shot agonisingly wide of the upright.
Cudjoe Show
After the break, the run of play continued to flow towards the dark blue net, and it would take United just eight minutes to double their advantage. The second phase of a corner saw Meekison decisively stop a Dundee counter in its tracks before feeding Cudjoe wide on the right. The 19-year-old wrong-footed his marker with a sharp touch inside, drove across the edge of the area and unleashed a well-struck effort which nestled into the near-post.
Cudjoe then showed his willingness to play his part in the out-of-possession exploits of his side, aggressively counter-pressing after losing possession to pickpocket Ewan Murray and charge towards goal unchallenged.
Livewire Cudjoe danced inside a desperate recovery challenge from Wilkie, proceeding to reverse his left-footed shot from 16 yards past Lorimer for three-nil with an hour played.
United went close to adding a fourth twice in quick succession soon after, first Meekison’s long-range free-kick narrowly whistling over the top of the bar then Finlay Allan’s last-ditch intervention in the area was the only thing which prevented Thomson getting himself on the scoresheet.
A comfortable lead allowed for Grant and Payne to utilise the depth of the squad, as 16-year-old Young Terrors star Greg Petrie and mercurial winger Bryan Mwangi were introduced from the bench in the closing stages. Cumbernauld Colts loanee Jacob Comerford also made a cameo, replacing fellow right-sided defender Layton Bisland late on.
Just Rewards
The outstanding Thomson, who’d terrorised right-back Lewis Lorimer all afternoon, secured the goal his performance deserved in emphatic fashion.
The wide man received on the backfoot from Mwangi close to the touchline and jinked inside two half-hearted Dundee tackles before stroking the ball to Watson on the edge of the area. Thomson continued his run to receive it back from his colleague behind the defence and finished with aplomb on the angle.
Five-Star Showing
Merely two minutes later, frontman Sadat netted a misery compiler for the hapless Dark Blues, picking up the pieces of a Watson cross from the right to stab home past a motionless Welsh between the sticks.
Threatening to run riot, the hosts should’ve had six when Luke Graham’s attempted clearance ricocheted back off teammate Wilkie and fell kindly for Watson to burst through one-on-one, but he showed too much to the ‘keeper, with Welsh racing off his line to smother the danger.
Young Terrors skipper Moore also had the chance to heap more despair on the Dens Park outfit as Cudjoe’s low ball across the area ran all the way through to the midfielder at the back post, however his vicious strike was met with a fabulous save by Dundee’s number one in close quarters.
A five-star performance from rampant Dundee United B who dismantled a dismal Dundee side lacking in creativity and defensive solidity to get back to winning ways in the cinch Reserve League Cup.
Teamlines
United: Newman, Bisland, Duffy, Hutchinson, Donald, Moore, Watson, Meekison, A.Sadat, Cudjoe, Thomson (Adams, Mwangi, Comerford, Pertie, Bertie, Heenan)
Dundee: Welsh, Lorimer, Murray, Graham, Wilkie, Kelly, Allan, Blackdock, Richardson, Clark, Mutale (Lynch, Cabrelli, Martin, Craik)
