Late show Injury-time double at Tannadice enough to take sting out of Wasps

PLAYERRATINGS

IN terms of it being a spectacle, there is no nice way to put it — Dundee United’s weekend Irn-Bru Cup win over Alloa was instantly forgettable.

Despite four goals and a dramatic finish that saw the home team net twice to avoid having to go to extra-time and possibly penalties, this was a tie the 1,763 brave souls who turned up at Tannadice were forced to endure.

It was a game that never really got going and one glaring first-half miss from the visitors’ Kevin Cawley apart, until Patrick N’Koyi put the Tangerines ahead from the spot in the 72nd minute, there seemed little prospect of either goal being breached.

Goals, of course, are like buses and having waited what seemed an eternity for one, over the next 21 minutes three more arrived.

And completely out of character with what had gone before, the strikes from Cawley to equalise and then Paul McMullan and Willo Flood that finally turned things United’s way in injury time, were all top drawer.

If the two late efforts his team got gave home boss Ray McKinnon reason to smile, he could also be satisfied over the fact, for the second round running, a fizzy pop cup-tie, flat as most of the play was, had served a good purpose.

For while it’s no secret that the defence of this competition is by no means his top priority, McKinnon has been able to use the games so far to benefit quite a few members of his playing staff.

Saturday saw experienced men William Edjenguele, Lewis Toshney, Willo Flood and N’Koyi all get game time they needed, while the 90-plus minutes also provided more valuable experience for kids like Harvey Dailly, Logan Chalmers and Archie Thomas.

Dailly and Chalmers started for the second round in a row, while Thomas was also promoted to the XI. That gave them a further taste of what it’s like to play against men, not the boys they face in U/20s football.

And, make no mistake about it, Alloa are a strong physical side and that aspect of this tie will have been of benefit to the teenagers.

Indeed, while there was a collective sigh of relief from the home stands as McMullan and Flood spared us an extra 30 minutes, that things were not extended beyond regulation time was harsh on the visitors.

In terms of organisation and application, Jim Goodwin’s side acquitted themselves very well and, had centre-forward Chris Renton brought his shooting boots with him, he could easily have fired them ahead just moments after Cawley’s leveller.

Alloa also felt they had reason to be aggrieved over referee Willie Collum’s penalty award. They felt defender Andrew Graham got to the ball before making any contact with N’Koyi, though his challenge did look clumsy.

To rub salt in their wounds, Graham came off worse in the tackle, suffering a shoulder injury his manager fears may keep him out for some time.

If they had complaints about the opener, there was no dispute over the two late finishes that won the game.

By that time, United had introduced Billy King and Sam Stanton.

The step up in quality was noticeable and, even had extra-time been needed, the result was probably by then inevitable.