Craig Easton will be proud of how his youngsters came back from two goals down against St Johnstone's Colts to send United into the next round of the Irn-Bru Cup giving him the satisfaction of holding a 100% winning record in the dugout at Tannadice.
By Kevin Taylor
With both Laszlo and Wright deciding to leave the sides to their youth coaches, Craig Easton got the chance to give some of his young players the platform to showcase their abilities.
First Half:
It was the visitors who started the brighter with the majority of the possession despite not creating any clear chances. After five minutes, Thomas had to go off injured due to an ankle knock, which brought Zata into the game and his grit and determination helped give United a strong foothold in the match.
With United taking more possession, more chances started to be created and a good driving run from Appere created a good shooting opportunity in the 13th minute but he was scythed down before he could get his shot away. Glass lined up for the free-kick but his effort curled high over the bar.
This was followed up shortly after when Zata played the ball into the feet of Glass down the left-hand side of the pitch. A quick change of pace and Glass was at the byline, delivering an excellent low cross which was cleared well by the Saints defender only a couple of yards out.
Despite this, it was the visitors who took the lead against the run of play in the 21st minute. It was the son of ex-Scotland skipper Colin who broke the deadlock with a powerful header that even his old man would’ve been proud of, bulleting the well-delivered corner past the diving Siegrist.
This took the wind out of United’s sails for a little while, but not long after they were back sniffing around the edge of the Saints box, looking for a way to get back into things. It was the right-hand side that was looking particularly dangerous, with McMullan making some excellent runs to the byline.
It was one of these runs that gave United the best chance of the match so far. McMullan’s low cross was almost met by Chalmers but he couldn’t direct it goalward. The ball did continue to the back post where Appere was waiting to strike, but Sinclair was well positioned to collect comfortably.
United were playing well, but it could have been 2-0 to the Saints just before the interval when full-back Ciaran Brain powered a shot towards goal from just inside the box. His effort was heading just inside the post before Siegrist threw himself to his right and superbly managed to flick it wide with his fingertips.
A good first for all to watch; both teams playing the ball on the ground and with a good tempo and attacking intent.
Second Half:
The second half didn’t start with the same tempo as the first, but this was going to change as the game progressed; the opening ten minutes or so being defined loosely as a ‘midfield battle’.
It was the visitors who notched the next goal when some good work down the right by McCann’s cross was headed away only as far as Hendry waiting just inside the box. He took one touch and delivered a beautifully curled ball in the top right-hand corner, beyond both the United keeper and defender on the line.
Despite being down by two, the United side didn’t look like a team who were out of things, and it proved to be the case.
Just six minutes later, Chalmers managed to react first when the ball bobbled in the box and landed at his feet; slamming the ball into the net from close range.
United continued to push forward and equalised on 78 minutes when McMullan won the ball in the centre of the pitch before pinging a one-two against Smith to set him free with only the goalkeeper to beat – which he did with a cool low finish. It must be noted that the ball that set him through from Smith was a very neat backheel indeed.
The next big highlight of the match might be one of the strangest you’ll see in this tournament. After collecting a header, the Saints keeper went to take the ball out of the box, not realising Smith was behind him. Smith nipped in to sneak the ball away before being smothered by Sinclair. It looked a clear foul but nothing was given by the referee.
In the end, it didn’t matter as McMullan was about the seal a United victory. Chalmers did well to feed the ball into McMullan who proceeded to drive through the middle of the Saints defence. With the help of an Appere run to the right pulling the defender away, McMullan strode into the box and slipped a low shot past the diving goalkeeper and into the bottom corner of the net.
Man of the Match – Paul McMullan. The pacey wide-man terrorised the Saints down the right for 75 minutes before moving into a central position where he scored the two goals that sent United into the next round.
Dundee United: Siegrist, Wardrop, Graham, Thomas (Zata 6), Bollan, Allardice, McMullan, Glass, Smith, Chalmers, Appere. Subs not used: Donaldson, Reekie, Ward, Banks, Cooney, Meekinson.
St Johnstone Colts: Sinclair, Brian, Donald, Wilson, Shaughnessy, McCann, Ballantyne (MacKenzie 78), McLean, Hendry, Struthers (Hamilton 86), Northcroft. Subs not used: Wills, Finnie, Quigley, Robertson, Woolley.
Referee: Colin Steven.
Attendance: 700
