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| Dundee United on the attack at Tannadice |
Date: Sunday 30th
December
Competition: Scottish
Premier League
Attendance: 6,386
Admission: £19
Programme: £3
I
don’t think I’ll witness a more enthralling match all season – some great goals
and some kamikaze defending all contributed to my favourite visit of the year
so far.
Navigating
Dundee can be quite difficult if you don’t know the city that well. I’m one of
those people, so I was absolutely delighted to find a parking space on
Dundonald Street, only a matter of minutes away from the ground. I seriously
thought that I was going to miss kick-off, which would have been disappointing.
A
quick walk around the stadium, I found myself at the turnstile for George Fox
Stand and paid my £19 to get in. My first thoughts were that the ground wasn’t
at all like I remembered. I’ve only been to Tannadice twice before, years ago,
with both times being pre-season friendlies when we holidayed in St. Andrews.
Both times we sat in The Shed end which in my mind made Tannadice seem like a
much bigger stadium than it actually is. This time, in the lower tier of The
George Fox Stand I found the ground to be much smaller than it appeared in my
memory and on television. It means that the fans are very close to the action
and the noise generated within the ground much louder. The fans around me were
loud and passionate, if a little moany. They obviously have high expectations
of their side. What was also great was the number of women and young children
at the game (including the two old women behind me who made me laugh several
times with their commendatory on the match and their withering assessment of
the referee, “och, he must have got that whistle for Christmas”).
The
trip to Tannadice was shaping up to be one of my favourite grounds, although
the legroom left a lot to be desired – I’m grateful the seat to my left was
vacant.
Dundee
United started the game brightly, having lots of possession and looking the
most likely to score – and any time Johnny Russell got on the ball he caused
panic in the Saints defence. However, a slip from Barry Douglas allowed Gary
Teale to drive the ball across the box and Paul Dummett was there to poke it
home. The goal clearly knocked the stuffing out of United, who lost all
composure for the next part of the game.
However,
United got back into the game with a penalty. Jon Daly was brought down in the
box when he leapt for a header. From the spot Daly sent the keeper the wrong
way to equalise. United are very composed team on the ball, if sometimes unsure
of how to play that ‘killer’ pass. This approach wasn’t being particularly
welcome by the fans around me (“och no, we’re back to this tiki taka stuff”),
which might explain why certain clubs don’t put an emphasis on passing
football. But it was precisely the neat, patient interplay which resulted in
United taking the lead when Stuart Armstrong quickly turned a Saints defender
and rifled a low shot in from distance that found itself in the back of the
net. It was a great strike, although Samson in the St. Mirren goal would
probably feel he could have done better at keeping it out.
A
2-1 lead at half time gave the locals lots to be cheerful about at half time
and it gave me the opportunity to sample a Dundee pie or ‘peh’ as the natives
prefer to call them. And it wasn’t half bad either.
Some
basic defending mistakes made it inevitable that we’d have goals in the second
half and so it proved as we got four more. Five minutes into the second half, a
terribly slack pass from Keith Watson allowed St. Mirren to take full advantage
with Steven Thompson more than willing to put the ball in the back of the net.
It was an entirely preventable goal but one which Dundee United have been
guilty of several times this season. At 2-2, United continued to have the lion’s
share of the possession but couldn’t find a way of making it count. The fans
were getting on their back too, with the familiar refrain of “get it up the
park” ringing around my section of the stand. I’m not convinced that would have
helped United’s cause but football fans are rarely the most patient characters
in the world.
United’s
fans were further tested when St Mirren took the lead for the second time.
Another Gary Teale cross (this time from a free kick) landed in the box and
Mark McAusland was the quickest to pounce, lashing it high into the net from
about six yards out.
The
turning point of the game in my view came when Michael Gardyne managed to
squander a perfect opportunity to get United back in the game with this effort.
It was truly a horrendous miss and a further example of United not have a great
deal of the luck on the day.
United
were then reduced to 10 men when Brian McLean received his marching orders. He
mis-controlled a simple ball and then recklessly lunged in to recover it.
Initially, I felt it was a harsh decision but I can also see why the referee
produced his red card. There was no malice, only clumsiness in the tackle, so
perhaps a yellow would be fairer. You can judge for yourself in the highlights.
United’s
afternoon got even worse when David Van Zanten put St. Mirren 4-2 with a
cross-come-shot that the United defender Gavin Gunning hesitated over and it squirmed
its way into the back of the net. Van Zanten has not yet reached double figures
in goals in a 14 season career, so it would suggest that United were having a
really bad day at the office. The fourth goal saw the start of a mass exodus
from the ground.
Barry
Douglas was able to grab the goal of the game with a spectacular free kick in
injury time, but sadly it was too late for United to rally back and grab a
point.
As
I’ve mentioned, this was probably my favourite visit of the season so far. A
great ground, firmly within the city (they’ve been playing football at
Tannadice since the 1870s), a loud and passionate support and two teams
competing and scoring plenty of goals. It’s these sort of games that are a
credit to Scottish football and make me delighted I’ve undertaken my 42 Grounds
adventure.
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