Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Irn-Bru clash will see Utd changes
DUNDEE United will use the start of their defence of the Irn-Bru Cup to give a string of first-team men much-needed game time.
Cowdenbeath head for Tannadice for this first-round tie tonight, just over three weeks after going down 4-1 there in the Betfred Cup group stages.
It will be a markedly different United line-up from that day, but there will be no lack of experience in the home ranks.
Goalkeeper Deniz Mehmet will come in for Harry Lewis, while another summer arrival, Patrick N’Koyi, will make his first competitive start following an injury-hit first few weeks at the club.
Also being handed valuable game time will be weekend signing Paul Quinn, James Keatings, Willo Flood and Scott Fraser.
The midfielder came off the bench to score the winner against Queen of the South in the Championship on Saturday.
A bout of sickness, however, forced him to watch last week’s derby from the bench and also severely curtailed the amount of work he was able to do on the training pitch, so he is set for 90 minutes in this one.
“It will do Scott good to get another run-out and the likes of Keatings, N’Koyi, Willo and Deniz will all benefit,” said Ray.
“I’ll be able to give a few of the ones who’ve played in all the games so far a break, but it will be first-team men coming in for them and it means we’ll have an experienced side out on the pitch.
“We’ll need them because although we won well in the Betfred against Cowden, they were well organised and it took us a while to break them down.”
There will also be room for youth in the United XI, with teenagers Scott Allardice and Logan Chalmers being pencilled in for starts.
Allardice already has a fair bit of top-team experience and his last start came in the opening day league win at Inverness just over a week ago.
Seventeen-year-old attacker Chalmers has been impressing in the U/20s and came on the last time the teams met and late on in the Betfred group clash a couple of weeks back.
If United make it through they will learn their second-round opponents on Thursday afternoon, when teams from Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic and Wales will enter the draw.