Utd show Tangerines are made to battle all the way for their latest home win

PLAYERRATINGS

IN terms of character there was reason for encouragement as Dundee United battled for every minute of the 90 to take three valuable points against St Mirren.

They had to, because in a game marked by a string of controversial decisions from referee Craig Charleston, they needed a last-minute Blair Spittal strike to secure the win.

It keeps Ray McKinnon’s men in the hunt for a second place finish in the Championship and two fewer games in the promotion play-offs and, just at the right time of the campaign, it also extended their latest unbeaten run to four games.

For much of this one whistler Charleston was the centre of attention, not least for allowing Thomas Mikkelsen’s seventh-minute opener that simply shouldn’t have been allowed, to stand.

Not that there was much wrong with the Dane’s strike — it was a spectacular effort from 16 yards that crashed in off the crossbar.

But as he attempted to latch on to Willo Flood’s pass forward, Mikkelsen clearly — if accidentally — sent the Buddies’ Gary MacKenzie crashing to the ground when he took a swipe at the ball, missed and connected high on the defender’s groin.

Quite how Charleston and his assistants missed what seemed obvious to everyone else in the stadium, only he knows. It was a howling error and one the visitors felt rightly aggrieved by.

Later in the half the ref inexplicably booked United’s winning-goal hero Spittal for time wasting as he took a throw-in. Odd, given that the home team were on the attack and seeking a second goal.

After MacKenzie had deservedly levelled before the break with a powerful header from a Stevie Mallan free-kick, the focus was back on Charleston as he penalised St Mirren ‘keeper Billy O’Brien for picking up a pass back, the ball having been delivered by Stephen McGinn through a crowd of players and from near the halfway line.

That again left the visitors aggrieved because it was not clear that the ball was intended for the goalie but, in fairness to the ref, a pass is a pass and the wise move by O’Brien would surely have been to just punt it back up the park without using his hands.

As luck would have it, when Willo Flood touched the free-kick to Tony Andreu, he drilled it low into the back of the net, adding to the away team’s sense of injustice.

Credit to Jack Ross’s men, they didn’t stop battling and, with just four minutes left, substitute Josh Todd’s strike looked to have earned them a valuable point in their fight to stay in the division. That’s where United’s character kicked in.

A few players sank to their knees after the opposition’s second equaliser but they quickly picked themselves up and set about winning the game for the third time.

They did so when Spittal struck his first goal of the season with a sweet strike from the edge of the area.

It secured the points and showed whatever struggles this team have endured since the turn of the year, they are up for the fight and giving their all to win promotion.

All that said, this was never the most fluid of performances and you can’t help feeling there’s more to come from this United side. Hopefully that will be over the next month.