Well, the first Dundee derby of the season was a bit of a cracker wasn't it? They usually are in fairness. I turned up at this game brimming with confidence due to our newly forged defensive pairing and a solid away win on the weekend.
Connolly earned a start after an impressive outing at Fir Park and Fraser kept his place in the side but out on the right, allowing Rankin to return to the side.
Player Ratings
Position(s) Played: Goalkeeper
Match Rating: 6/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Position(s) Played: Right Back
Match Rating: 8/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Position(s) Played: Left Back
Match Rating: 7/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Position(s) Played: Centre Back
Match Rating: 8/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Position(s) Played: Centre Back
Match Rating: 7/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Position(s) Played: Centre Midfield
Match Rating: 6/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Position(s) Played: Centre Midfield
Match Rating: 6/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Position(s) Played: Left Wing
Match Rating: 9/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Aiden Connolly
Position(s) Played: Attacking Midfield
Match Rating: 7/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Scott Fraser
Position(s) Played: Right Wing
Match Rating: 6/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Darko Bodul
Position(s) Played: Striker
Match Rating: 5/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Substitutes
Chris Erskine
Position(s) Played: Right Wing
Match Rating: 7/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBCv
Position(s) Played: Attacking Midfield
Match Rating: 7/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Simon Murray
Position(s) Played: Striker
Match Rating: 7/10
AZT Season Average: 0.00
Comments:
TBC
Match Analysis
Hemmings, Loy and in particular Stewart, were doing a great job of dropping deep and pulling the defence out of position. This left space for the other two strikers to run into and Harkins will thread those passes through all day. The task of containing them was made even more difficult due to the fact all three forwards were interchanging and switching who dropped off, removing any kind of pattern that the defence could acclimatise to.
United dropped deeper to prevent the space in behind. Whilst this made it difficult for Dundee to get in behind, it gave Harkins more space and time to dictate the play. United fell into the old habit of standing off the opposition after a good pressing effort in the first ten minutes. Despite Dundee’s domination, United managed to make it to half time with a clean sheet thanks to an incredible double stop from Zwick.
The second half started roughly the same way the first half ended but two things were about to make a massive impact on the game - the injury of Kevin Thomson and the introduction of Simon Murray and Chris Erskine.
The injury of Thomson made a huge alteration to the way Dundee setup. Harkins was the playmaker pulling the strings in the midfield but now he had to play the defensive midfielder role. The first issue there is that he doesn't do it as well as Thomson does, and the second is that McGowan isn't the playmaker in the middle of the pitch that Harkins is, therefore the main attacking threat was lost.
United were able to play higher up the pitch due to a combination of Murray pressing the defence to get rid of the ball earlier and the removal of Harkin’s through balls as he was playing much deeper. This left Dundee’s front three to feed off long balls from the back, which was not their strength. United were now able to step it up a gear and get their ball players some possession.
It was this possession higher up the pitch that led to Spittal getting the ball at the edge of the box and fire home after some sensational footwork. United were in full flow now, moving the ball quickly and driving at Dundee. Erskine found Spittal again with a fantastically weighted ball to make it 2-0. Again, this was made possible by the possession in the opponent’s final third - something that was extremely limited in the first half.
The game really opened up at this point, with Dundee trying to push forward but United looking pacey on the counter attack. We were moving the ball around quickly and Souttar was starting to dictate the game just as Harkins had in the first half.
United could have added a third during this spell but instead of finishing the game off, Dundee went up the other end and scored. Yes, it was a very impressive finish from Stewart but he was given far too much time at the edge of our box. Rankin could have closed things down earlier in the move and Dixon was guilty of letting him get onto his preferred foot. Either way, Dundee had a mountain of momentum behind them now.
United still looked dangerous and were seeing the game out well in the corners. Murray managed to work himself into a position to finish the game off but an incredible save denied him. A game of fine margins indeed. It was to be another strike from the edge of the box that led to our downfall. Zwick failed to palm a Harkin’s shot clear of danger and McPake punished him for it. It was a hard one for the young keeper but one I don't think we'll see that from him too often.
Overall, a draw is probably a fair result if you include the dominance of Dundee in the first half but losing a two-goal lead is always going to feel like a loss. United looked much better in the second half with a sense of energy from the double substitution. If we can keep this in our play moving forward and press the opposition more aggressively, we will see more good results than bad.
0 comments:
Post a Comment