Utd show McKinnon shuffles his pack and secures an Irn-Bru semi-final slot

PLAYERRATINGS

DUNDEE United’s winning run continued with victory at Dunfermline that made it seven successes on the bounce and booked a place in the Irn-Bru Cup semi-finals.

More importantly, the win Mark Durnan’s early goal secured in the lunchtime clash at East End Park sent a message that the Tangerines have a squad capable of competing this term.

Manager Ray McKinnon made eight changes from the starting line-up that had triumphed over the Pars earlier in the week in the league.

It was a gamble, one another Scottish manager also took at the weekend with no success.

For United it paid off as some of the squad got needed game-time, others staked a claim for elevation to the league side and a couple were given valuable experience at top-team level.

And what was a hard-fought but slightly more comfortable success than the one-goal winning margin suggested, demonstrated if United have to make changes in the important months to come, they’ll still be capable of winning.

Right now that’s a nice habit Ray McKinnon’s team have got into.

As the final whistle signalled their seventh in a row victory, they’ve now won eight of their last nine unbeaten games. That run has shown they’re not just serious contenders for this cup but also in the Championship.

For the moment, they continue to be considered second favourites to Hibs in the league campaign but victory in the next two league clashes against Morton and the Hibees could see the bookies having a rethink.

Not that the manager will complain if others continue to be more talked about.

Almost under the radar, he’s spent the past few months putting together a team — correction, squad — that is looking increasingly useful.

It’s one that shows their biggest strength is knowing what it takes to win games.

On a few occasions that’s been done via the kind of silky football United sides tend to be known for.

In this quarter-final, though, it was again an ability to dig in and battle through the 90 minutes that brought the victory.

As they’d done at Tannadice last midweek, Dunfermline set up to make things difficult for the opposition.

Unlike then, United made an early breakthrough when Durnan struck his third goal in four games after just eight minutes.

That forced the home side to be more positive. In turn that gave United more space on the counter attack and, had their final pass or finish been more decisive, the winning margin could have been bigger.

If the goal helped, so did the fact for the second clash in a row the Pars had a man sent off.

Nate Wedderburn went late in the first half at Tannadice and this time it was Lewis Martin getting his marching orders just short of the hour mark.

Martin’s was a technical offence for pulling at Blair Spittal’s arm as the United man ran clear.

The home fans were furious it led to red and it was by no means a bad foul. It was one that left often controversial referee Willie Collum with no choice but to take the action he did.

To their credit the Pars battled hard to force extra-time. United, though, always had the edge and were worth the continuation of that winning run.