New-look Tangerines get of to a promising start in the Betfred Cup opener

PLAYERRATINGS

DUNDEE United got their season off to a winning start in the Betfred Cup and whatever else was to be said about Ray McKinnon’s new-look side in their clash with Raith Rovers, that was what mattered most.

If it took the Tangerines a while to get going, by the end the two goal winning margin was a deserved one.

And if not everything went exactly to plan right from the first minute — they did almost score i n within that timescale — there were good reasons.

Most significantly the ongoing changes to the squad meant United handed competitive debuts to no fewer than six of the starting line-up and a team making that many changes is going to need time to gel.

On top of the six new starters, all three substitutions saw the men coming on also taking their bow.

One was Sam Stanton, only signed on a season-long loan from Hibs a few hours before kick-off and like most of the new boys he made an impact.

An immediate one, in fact, because within a couple of minutes the 23-year-old won the penalty that allowed his former Easter Road team-mate James Keatings to convert and give his side the two-goal cushion that allowed them to play out the game in comfort.

The opener had come a little earlier in the second half and was a cultured curling shot from another of the summer recruits, Paul McMullan. He was the stand-out player in a tangerine shirt and as a winger who likes to take men on, provide crosses and has an eye for goal, one of the safest tips for the campaign is the former Celtic kid will quickly become a fans favourite.

With his work-rate and intelligence, the same goes for Keatings, while McMullan’s fellow wide man Billy King did enough to suggest he’ll be an asset.

If the men at the glamorous end of the pitch showed up well, recruits like Tam Scobbie, at the back, and Dutch midfielder Jordie Briels, also put in enough good work to suggest they’ll be worthwhile additions.

Operating at left-back, in the absence of injured and possibly Kilmarnock-bound club captain Cammy Bell, Scobbie was handed the skipper’s armband. That shows what kind of influence he’s already had on the dressing-room.

In the middle of the park, meanwhile, Briels covered a lot of ground in similar fashion to the way Willo Flood, watching this one from the stand because of an injury, operates.

None of that is suggesting this was the perfect performance and in all honesty this was a game involving two teams who, in terms of match sharpness, looked two or three games away from being where they’d want.

That’s one of the problems in starting competitive games in mid-July when no team has done as much preparatory work as they’d like.

And if all United’s new men enjoyed encouraging debuts, those left over from last term also showed up well.

Notably Scott Fraser, of whom so much is expected, grew into the game and it was his excellent run that opened up the Raith defence for McMullan’s goal.

Overall this 2-0 win could best be described as encouraging, a decent start, and there definitely looks to be more to come from United.