35 years ago United denied UEFA glory

THIRTY-FIVE years ago, Dundee United were in the middle of an era like no other.

A league title, two League Cups and countless other finals.

But it could have been even better!

This week marks the 35th anniversary of the Tannadice side reaching the UEFA Cup Final, only to be beaten over two legs by Swedish side Gothenburg.

On the way to the final, Jim McLean’s side beat Lens, Universitatea Craiova, Hajduk Split, Barcelona and Borussia Monchengladbach in the earlier rounds.

United went on to lose the final 2-1 over two legs against IFK Gothenburg, with a very sore 1-0 Scottish Cup Final defeat to St Mirren sandwiched in between.

Central defender

Paul Hegarty commented recently:

“It was a magnificent achievement for a club of United’s size to get to the final, but that’s tinged with the disappointment that we didn’t go on and win it.

“We played 12 games to get to the final and had seven clean sheets during the campaign, which shows you how well drilled we were defensively.

“So to go so close and miss out was hard to take.

“We played the Scottish Cup final on the Saturday and the second leg of the Uefa Cup final on the Wednesday.

“I think if we’d beaten St Mirren at Hampden we would have won the second leg against Gothenburg because the momentum would have been with us.”

For the away leg in the final against IFK Gothenburg, around 3,000 United fans went to Gothenburg for the first leg by land, sea and air, but witnessed their favourites going down 1-0 to a first-half Stefan Pettersson goal.

In the second leg at Tannadice, a Lennart Nilsson strike on 22 minutes doubled the Swedes’ advantage, meaning United required three goals to lift the trophy.

They mustered one, a powerful John Clark effort from the edge of the box on the hour.

Glory in defeat, but it could have been even better!

Paul Hegarty (right) congratulates John Clark on his secondleg goal.