Dundee Utd 4
Kilmarnock 0
League (Premier Division)

Match Report

United came into this home game with Kilmarnock on the back of a great win at Parkhead. The one downside of that match was the sending off of Richard Gough which meant he was missing for the visit of the Ayrshire men. Paul Sturrock remained in the side after a good recent run of games and goals following a frustrating season of injuries.

The match got off to a tentative start and Kilmarnock could, and perhaps should, have scored twice. However, United got their game together and began to dismantle a shell shocked Killie side. After 13 minutes, Derek Stark headed United into the lead from a Bannon corner. It was 2-0 after twenty minutes. Bannon knocked the ball forward, Dodds headed on and Milne laid it into the path of the onrushing John Holt who buried it in the bottom corner. United were now flying as they shot towards the shed end at Tannadice. The third wasn't long in coming. Again, it came from a Bannon corner and again it was Derek Stark who raced in to head the ball beyond Allan McCulloch. There was still time for another goal before half time as United moved into cruise control. Bannon flighted in a free-kick which was met by Ralph Milne. The midfielder, with a single touch, ran in perfectly into the path of Paul Sturrock, who had no trouble steering it home from just inside the box.

Kilmarnock improved after the break but apart from a few hairy moments did not look capable of unnerving the title challengers. Still, considering it was the game that finally guaranteed their demotion to the first division, Kilmarnock displayed some defiant pride in the themselves during that period. United had beaten Killie long before half-time and if they revealed their other, less effective nature after the break, that was understandable after the drain on their physical and mental processes during this week. With Celtic losing at Pittodrie, United went top for the first time and dreams of the title became a potential reality.