Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Mellon hails United for ‘professional job’
DUNDEE United boss Micky Mellon says “it’s all to play for” as the Tangerines moved a step closer to Hampden with a 1-0 Scottish Cup win at Forfar last night.
They weren’t at their best at Station Park but United are now just 90 minutes away from a semi-final at the national stadium, much to the delight of gaffer Mellon.
“We came to do a professional job and make sure we got through to the next round,” he said.
“We’re into the quarterfinals of the Scottish Cup and that sounds good.
“It’s incredible to be just 90 minutes from Hampden.
“For us, it’s what Dundee United should be all about, contesting cup-ties in the latter stages and that’s what we’ve always said we wanted to build back towards. I’m not bothered who we get, it’s all to play for isn’t it? It’ll be a massive quarter-final between two Premiership teams.
“It’ll be a brilliant tie and one we’re really looking forward to. It’s just a pity it’s not going to have a crowd.”
Benjamin Siegrist was due to start in goal for United but was replaced by Deniz Mehmet after hurting his hand in the warm-up.
Mellon revealed the Swiss keeper will require a scan to determine the severity of the injury.
“He’ll have to go for a scan. He’s injured his hand in the warm-up, enough not to play, so he’s in a lot of pain.
“We’ll see what happens over the next 24 hours.”
Interim Loons boss Gary Irvine praised his team for their performance, expressing his pride at the effort his players showed as they head into an endof-season relegation dogfight.
“There’s loads of positives to take from the performance going into the final five fixtures,” the defender said.
“We knew it was going to be tough because Dundee Untied are a good side and off the back of a very busy fixture list for us as well.
“The effort and what we brought to the game was massive. It’s something we need to build on now.”