Utd’s show Defeat at Falkirk leaves Tangerines a mountain to climb to catch Hibs

PLAYERRATINGS

FIRST let’s get the excuses out of the way.

In centre-half William Edjenguele and goalkeeper Cammy Bell, two vastlyexperienced and influential members of the rearguard were missing.

During the game, there were a couple of enforced changes as first Blair Spittal and then Lewis Toshney picked up injuries.

And don’t forget on a difficult day in terms of weather, the game was played on a synthetic pitch with which the home team were much more familiar. That’s that done, now to the reality. It was that Dundee United’s woeful performance in going down 3-0 to Falkirk on Saturday can be summed up with one word — unacceptable.

It was how furious gaffer Ray McKinnon described what he’d witnessed and he added this was the worst showing of his time in charge.

It was impossible to argue with that and the truth was had the Bairns blasted a couple more goals past the largely unprotected Lewis Zwick, the score would in no way have flattered them.

Zwick, incidentally, was one of the few in the United ranks who deserved pass marks.

A save to prevent a Peter Grant header just a couple of minutes after John Baird’s opener hitting the back of his net, was up there with the best that will be seen anywhere this term.

The young German did concede a penalty in the second half and might have been red-carded for that but the incident was the result of him being left exposed by poor defending.

And this was a day when the Tangerines were poor at everything.

Their passing was off, the pace at which they played was sluggish, the tackling was weak.

That list could go on and on. The bottom line is if these 90 minutes are repeated, they can forget any notion of promotion.

As it is, the chances of claiming top spot and going up automatically are looking slim. This was a chance to close the gap on leaders Hibs to just three points.

While they have a game in hand, had that been done it would have put pressure on them.

Instead, by the time United play in the league again they are likely to be nine points behind. With games now running out, that would be an advantage that is unlikely to be hauled back

So it looks like the play-offs will provide the route back to the Premiership.

Saturday’s opponents and in-form Morton are near certainties to be the other Championship sides involved.

Both have given United hard games this season. This was the second time the Bairns had put three past them.

A big improvement will be needed if that’s not to happen again if the teams do meet in post-season fixtures.

And if the campaign isn’t to end in disappointment, United must regain their pre-Christmas consistency.

A draw with Dunfermline followed by victory over Raith Rovers, their first of 2017, suggested it had returned, but Saturday showed that to be a false dawn.

The errors that were a mark of defeats at Dumbarton and Hibs either side of the turn of the year and then extended to the Scottish Cup hammering at Ross County, were back on Saturday.

If they continue the next few months will be painful for Arabs, over 800 of whom travelled to the Falkirk Stadium and were badly let down.