Defensive Tangerines season on verge of collapse after poor defeat in Kirkcaldy

PLAYERRATINGS

DUNDEE United’s season is on the verge of turning into a disaster after suffering a third league defeat on the trot at struggling Raith Rovers.

Just one Championship win since Christmas has seen the Tangerines hopes of pushing Hibs for the title fall away and now getting up through the play-offs looks a long shot.

That’s because they’ve switched from being the team before that win over St Mirren on December 24 that didn’t give away goals — John Sutton’s strike that day ended a run of six clean sheets — to one that gives up cheap ones.

The most frustrating thing for the Tangerines is that it was all their own doing that saw Raith get anything out of this match.

A change i n system from the manager saw him go for both Simon Murray and Thomas Mikkelsen up front and, in the opening stages, United were in control of the contest.

They should have been ahead after seven minutes as William Edjenguele missed from inside the six-yard box.

Tony Andreu’s cross from a short corner was flicked on by Mikkelsen and the big French defender stole in at the back post but kicked fresh air rather than the ball and Raith were let off.

Had that been converted, you’ve got to think the home side would have wilted considering they themselves had only one win in five months.

Raith had to be the only team in the division with lower confidence levels than United.

But they were given confidence by the Tangerines’ backline.

Five minutes after Edjenguele’s chance, Raith had a great one of their own set up by United.

Jamie Robson’s clearance careered off the shin of Willo Flood and set Rovers striker Ryan Hardie clean through only for Cammy Bell to come to the rescue of his defence with a good save.

Then five minutes before the break, the home side had the lead and again it was poor defending that allowed it to happen.

Stewart Murdoch was booked for a late tackle allowing the dangerous Chris Johnston to swing in a free-kick.

Up rose Craig Barr with no-one near him to head past Bell.

Raith had their lifeline and United had given it to them. Then shortly after the break, deja vu. A simple long free-kick from the centre circle was nodded on by the colossal Jean-Yves M’Voto, missed completely by a United defender and dropped to the feet of Hardie.

The on-loan Rangers kid took it well, finishing hard and low across Bell from an angle but, once again, it was a gift from the visitors.

From there, Raith were more than happy to hold onto what they had and United were struggling to get through their blanket defence with a deflected Flood shot the closest they came before Murray’s goal.

From a set-piece of their own, the ball fell to the striker 12 yards out and he slotted it nicely into the corner.

Then came the chance to steal a point from a poor performance as centre-back Mark Durnan found himself one-on-one with the home keeper.

The big defender did well to hold off M’Voto but hit the goalie with his effort and the opportunity was gone — and with it the points.

Somehow, the Tangerines need to rediscover that pre-Christmas form before long or else this season might even be worse than the last one.