Fightback Tangerines grab the advantage in first promotion play-off

PLAYERRATINGS

IT’S advantage Dundee United after the first leg of their play-off quarter-final at Morton last night.

And if the Tangerines’ second-half display at Cappielow is anything to go by, that statement might just prove valid for the rest of the post-season campaign.

United go into Friday’s Tannadice second leg holding a 2-1 lead courtesy of a fightback after the break that saw excellent goals from Simon Murray and Blair Spittal and well as an impressive performance.

To be honest, at the interval it was one few in the 3,000-plus crowd could have seen coming.

Down to an early Thomas O’Ware header, Ray McKinnon’s team had spent much of the first 45 minutes battling desperately to make sure things did not get any worse.

They had squandered an early opportunity as Thomas Mikkelsen blasted over after a first-minute Spittal corner wasn’t dealt with by the home defence. But, little over six minutes later, they were behind to O’Ware’s effort and for the rest of the half looked distinctly out of sorts.

Playing no-nonsense, direct football, Morton were in their faces.

United couldn’t cope with the opposition’s energy and physicality. So much so, in fact, by the time Willie Collum had blown his whistle for halftime, the fear was this tie might be all but over before it reached Tannadice.

By the end of the 90 minutes it almost was but not i n the way most would have predicted after the first-half events.

Perhaps United had been stuck in the throng of M8 rush-hour traffic the fans had been forced to battle through to get to Greenock but, for whatever reason, United had not turned up.

From the first kick of the second half, they were very much there and proceeded to come very close to running up a score that would have left Morton travelling north-east on Friday knowing it would be the last game of their season.

Six minutes in, a sweeping move ended with Murray turning on the edge of the area and thrashing an unstoppable shot past Derek Gaston for the equaliser.

Then, in the 65th minute, they were ahead .Wato Kuate’s strong work in the middle of the park enabled him to set up Spittal. He netted with a low effort from 20 yards.

Between the goals, Willo Flood saw a shot well saved and, after the second, Tony Andreu had a decent effort blocked. Then home skipper O’Ware was lucky to stay on the park when he pulled back Mikkelsen as the Dane ran clear.

And right at the death Murray might have made it 3-1 but couldn’t hit the target with a back-post volley.

There was much more to this turn-around than those chances. If Morton were the better team before the break, United were superior after it. Flood and Kuate bossed the middle of the park, Murray was always a threat in the final third and the creativity of Spittal and Andreu threatened to bring an even bigger lead.

It didn’t but United should complete the j ob on Friday. Then, if they maintain the levels of last night’s second half, neither Falkirk in a week, nor any top-flight side that has to be faced in the final battle for promotion need be feared.