St Johnstone 0
Dundee Utd 1
League (Premiership)

Match Report

United made two changes to the side that drew with Dundee a fortnight ago. Kyle Knoyle and Guy Demel replaced Paul Dixon and Blair Spittal for this match at McDiarmid Park. Former United player, Danny Swanson started for Saints.

Backed by a large travelling support, United started well. As early as the opening minute, the visitors had a chance to go ahead. Dow played in Rankin, who found space in the centre of the box but his first touch let him down and the opportunity disappeared. Anier was next to get a sight of goal but Mannus smothered his strike from the edge of the box. Mixu opted to go with four at the back in this one and the change of shape looked to work as United dominated the early play and restricted Saints to few chances. Donaldson should have given United the lead on 17 minutes when his downward header from a Paton free-kick was brilliantly saved by Mannus. A minute later Anier got United’s third clear cut chance when he did well to control a long ball before firing straight at Mannus after racing clear. It wasn’t long before the pressure told and midway through the first half United got their noses in front. Ryan Dow diverted a Mckay cross towards goal and Mannus could only watch on in vain as he fumbled the shot over the line. St Johnstone lifted their game following the goal and began gain a foothold in the match. The game became rather frantic at this point as both sides battled to gain superiority. Rankin came within inches of doubling United’s lead before half time when he drove through the St Johnstone defence, only to see the ball ricochet off his shin before it squirmed wide. The pace dropped out the game as it approached half time and although holding the lead, United could feel hard done by to have just a single goal advantage to show for their efforts.

St Johnstone looked much more purposeful in the second half and made an obvious tactical change to push further up the park than in the first half. This forced United deep in the early stages of the second period and enabled Saints to get a stranglehold on the game. For the opening 20 minutes it was wave upon wave of attack from the Perth men. Mixu opted to bring on Murray for Anier in the hope of providing an outlet for the overworked United defence. It worked well as the introduction gave the Tangerines some much-needed impetus. Danny Swanson tried his luck from long range on a couple of occasions but to no avail. The game got a whole lot tougher for United on the hour mark when Coll Donaldson was ordered off for denying Kane a goal-scoring opportunity when he bundled him over at the edge of the box. Sean Dillon immediately replaced Mckay and United opted to go with just one up front. There was a let off for the visitors soon after the red card when Murray Davidson struck the bar from 6 yards. For the remaining 30 minutes, United dug in and battled for every ball. On the odd occasion United were able to progress up the field they were still able to cause problems. One such opportunity arose from a Dow corner. There was an almighty scramble in the box and when the ball dropped to Gunning he blasted over when it looked like he may strike a second for United. St Johnstone forced a string of corners towards the end of the game but Sean Dillon got his head to every one to clear the danger. Blair Spittal had a late shout for a penalty when his shot looked to cannon off a defender’s arm. The four minutes of stoppage time felt like an eternity but United held on for a gutsy and hugely valuable win.

Manager's Comment:
“It was a wonderful effort. With 10 men, that spirit and character was there again. I can't praise the boys enough. They've got real mental toughness."

Fan's Comment:
“United showed great desire to dig out a victory at McDiarmid with just 10 men. We are now looking like a side that can string some results together. Is it too late? I don't think so, we can definitely catch Killie.”

Formation: 4-3-1-2
Captain: Paul Paton
Arab Archive 'Man of the Match': Paul Paton

Match Photos courtesy of Riki Grauer - More photos available at:
Dundee United Official Flickr Page

Match report written by Graeme Webster