GMS THE VIP Dons winger gives United painful reminder of what they have lost

THE decline of Dundee United can be traced back to the minute they let Gary Mackay-Steven walk out of Tannadice.

The little winger returned to haunt his former club again yesterday and served up a chilling reminder of the long road they still must travel to return to top-flight respectability.

United flogged Mackay-Steven to Celtic three years ago with team-mate Stuart Armstrong and sold off much of the soul of a club that has since become so troubled.

In the end they were made to look ordinary at Pittodrie even though they rallied late on to give the scoreline a proximity it barely deserved as Aberdeen saw out the last half hour with some comfort.

The last time Mackay-Steven lined up in this fixture in the Granite City, on the opening day of the season in 2014, he netted for United in a 3-0 win.

Arab fans love to belt out John Paul Young’s classic “Love Is In The Air” but as they made their way down the A90 last night they were singing from the songbook of Cher, “If I Could Turn Back Time”.

Mackay-Steven walked off the pitch with seven minutes to go in this Scottish Cup fifth-round tie, replaced by Dominic Ball, and he received a warm ovation on a bitterly cold afternoon his performance deserved.

He picked up an award for scoring Goal of the Round before kick-off for his thunderous effort against St Mirren last month.

And while his two strikes this time won’t be bothering the minds of the judges they were pivotal nonetheless as United remain without a Scottish Cup win at Pittodrie.

Mackay-Steven even chipped in with an assist for Adam Rooney’s opener in 20 minutes as the Dons eased their passage to a last-eight tie against Kilmarnock, with Kenny McLean also finding the net with a first-half header.

Reds ace Mackay-Steven’s second strike after 55 minutes, added to his first midway through the first period, put the Dons on easy street.

United sub Paul McMullan curled in a cracking second for his side in 65 minutes, adding to an earlier Sam Stanton strike, as United avoided a trouncing.

Csaba Laszlo’s side battled hard in the last 20 minutes and although Derek McInnes would not have been too enamoured by the manner in which his side took their foot off the gas they were never in any danger.

The United boss had stoked the ire of Aberdeen before the game when he claimed they have only been the second-best side in Scotland in recent years because of an absence of competition.

The Dons proved in a blistering opening half hour they deserve the mantle of best of the rest as they set about the Championship hopefuls with a tempo and urgency the Tannadice outfit couldn’t match.

Mackay-Steven was the architect of the opener in 20 minutes, knocking a first-time volley at the back post off a McLean cross down and into the ground.

It looped up over Harry Lewis and was probably heading for the net anyway but Rooney made sure as he pounced to nod the ball over the line. The hitman had been denied an opener just minutes earlier when another Mackay-Steven effort was saved by Lewis and although the Irish frontman reacted quickest his shot was sclaffed from eight yards.

It hit the hand of Mark Durnan as he ran in behind to clear but ref Willie Collum was right to rule it ball to hand as he waved away the appeals.

As much as Aberdeen caught the eye with a high-energy pressing game United lacked bravery on the ball, were guilty of bad decision-making and quite frankly there were times they were outright bullied.

The second goal was a case in point as Craig Slater was too easily dispossessed in midfield by Niall McGinn who ran on and slipped in Mackay-Steven on the left to bury a shot low under Lewis.

Remarkably, United carved a goal from nowhere in 33 minutes – and a beauty it was too as Slater combined with Emil Lyng, whose quickfire release found Stanton racing clear of the Dons defence.

Aberdeen’s cover was woeful but the former Hibs kid still finished with aplomb, running on unmarked before sliding a shot past Freddie Woodman from 10 yards.

Dons were clearly affronted with the loss of such a cheap strike and restored their two-goal advantage within 60 seconds.

This time the creator was Ryan Christie who flighted over a delightful cross from the left that was met by McLean, criminally unmarked as he made his way into the heart of the United box.

His header was powerful enough but Lewis went down like a slow puncture to his left and denied himself the chance to touch the ball away for a corner as it nestled inside the post instead.

Aberdeen underlined their superiority early in the second half when Mackay-Steven, who had been denied by a stunning fingertip stop by Lewis shortly before half-time, put them 4-1 in front.

The Dons ace skinned Jamie Robson on the outside before firing a shot into the net from 16 yards.

United dug deep to prevent embarrassment and midfielder McMullan curled a superb right-foot effort into the top corner of the net.

However, it was Dons who came closest to adding to the scoreline late on but Christie fired an effort over.