Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Tangerines now finish thanks to
DUNDEE United are tantalisingly close to securing the Championship title.
The Tangerines swept Morton aside 4-1 on Friday, with goals from Ross Docherty, Glenn Middleton, Louis Moult and Tony Watt rendering Robbie Muirhead’s late effort moot.
Allied with Raith Rovers’ 0-0 stalemate against Partick Thistle on Saturday, United are now six points clear at the summit of the table and, as such, can effectively seal promotion in the coming week.
Tele Sport made the trip to Cappielow to analyse the action.
Dundee United’s front four are flying.
Tony Moult and Tony Watt are visibly relishing a fresh, more direct philosophy, allowing them to battle for every ball and, invariably, with those fights.
Safe in the knowledge that Watt and Moult are reliable link-up men, Glenn Middleton and Kai Fotheringham feel confident enough to push forward and, at times, create a 4-2-4.
Moult has scored 11 goals in his last 15 games and is reigning Championship player of the month. He has plenty to give in the Premiership. A new contract is a no-brainer.
Watt boasts four goals in his last six outings, while Middleton hit the net against Morton. Fotheringham bagged a brace against Queen’s Park.
Between them they have 44 league goals. That is more than six other Championship sides have managed in total, and equal to the much-lauded Airdrieonians.
For a team occasionally criticised
for their output at times – and United have endured some turgid, frustrating affairs – they have still got some terrific numbers out of their attackers.
Ross Docherty will reflect on the period between August and late January with frustration. A swathe of niggling knocks – calf, hamstring, and groin – saw him in and out of the team.
And, for all United have decent depth, how the skipper was missed.
Thankfully for Jim Goodwin, Docherty has timed his return to full fitness and top form perfectly.
Friday night marked his eight successive start – his longest run
of the campaign. It was fitting that he notched the crucial opening goal with a perfectly timed run and clinical header.
Dovetailing perfectly with Craig Sibbald – United’s player of the year – the duo are the furnace that fires this high pressing, aggressive Terrors outlook.
Without their ability to intelligently plug gaps, cover ground and basically do the work of three men in the engine room, United’s front-four would be unable to do their thing in the final third.
When Docherty plays, United’s Championship win percentage is 74%.When he doesn’t, it lags at 43%.
United’s travelling Arabs – of which there are always many – have been treated to a banner campaign.
Naturally, they never wanted to be in this division, but Jim Goodwin’s charges at least ensured the United faithful enjoyed their away days.
Twelve leagues on the road is the most in the Tangerines’ history.
It is more than the previous three seasons (10 away wins) combined.
The Tangerines have racked up 4-0, 4-1 and 5-0 (twice) triumphs.
They didn’t lose an away match in the league until February.
In a division often characterised by challenging trips – particularly when you have a target on your back like
United – the aptitude on their travels is to be applauded.
None more so than the victory at Cappielow, with the Terrors becoming just the second team to score four-or-more goals on Morton’s patch since December 2021.
Back in July, if someone suggested that Duncan Ferguson could secure Dundee United the title, the notion would have been met with a wry smile and an arched eyebrow. Perhaps a couple of expletives. Yet, that is exactly what could happen on Friday night.
With United boasting a six-point lead over Raith Rovers and a superior goal difference of 36, defeat for the
Fifers against Ferguson’s Inverness would be terminal to their title hopes.
If this had been scripted – Ferguson facing Rovers almost 30 years to the day from the infamous headbutt on Jock McStay that landed him prison, seeking to aid the club that shaped him – it would have been deemed a little on the nose.
But here we are.
Even if Raith keep it alive in the Highlands, it’s in United’s hands. If they equal or better Rovers’ result when they host Ayr United, they’ll be back in the big time.
After a testing and, at times, galling and maddening 12 months, expect Tannadice to be packed.