Siegrist ‘one of best’ after starring role

Dundee United defender Mark Connolly says they must make the most of Swiss stopper Benjamin Siegrist while they have him , writes Calum Woodger.

The Tangerines’ No 1 pulled off a string of stellar saves in their goalless draw with Aberdeen at Tannadice on Saturday, receiving plaudits from team-mates and rivals alike.

Ir ish centre -ha lf Connolly went as far as to rank 28-year-old Siegrist as one of the best keepers in the country, believing the former Aston Villa man has a bright future ahead of him.

“Benjy is there to make those saves and he can do that because he’s a topclass keeper,” Connolly said.

“We are thankful to him for the saves he made against Aberdeen.

“He’s a very good goalkeeper, he’s up there with the best keepers in the country.

“Benjy has that ability to pull off the saves which win you points in games and, as a defender, it’s good to know you have someone like that behind you.

“Since I came to the club he’s grown as a player and as a person.

“He’s got all the ability you need to go to the top level but, thankfully, he’s here helping us pick up points.

“People are seeing him now, they’re seeing how good he is and what he’s capable of.

“He will go on to big things but we are just glad he is here for us.”

The Terrors have come in for some flak for their performances in the Betfred Cup against Kelty Hearts and Peterhead as well as some inconsistent league form of late.

Connolly admits their confidence was low coming into the clash with the Dons but was delighted to see them secure a va luab le Premiership point.

The 28-year-old added: “The confidence has been a bit low so it was about grinding a result out and that’s what we did.

“It was a determined point, we were desperate to keep a be solid.

“It has been a bit too easy to score against us at times but I think you saw a real determination to win the headers, put our bodies on the line and defend properly.

“We could have won it at the end with Logan Chalmers, so that just shows that if you keep things tight at one end you give yourself the chance to win it at the other.

“Aberdeen are a good side, they have been third for a lot of seasons and you can see their quality.

“T he y had a break there with no games, we clean sheet and had three games in that time so it has been a tough period.

“But I thought we were in a really good shape as a team and could have stolen it at the end.

“The attitude and determination was there, everyone could see that.”

Meanwh i le Dons manager Derek McInnes was disappointed not to take three points and aims to make amends when Hamilton visit Pittodrie in a rearranged game tomorrow.

“There’s positives, it doesn’ t feel like that because we came to win and we haven’t won,” said McInnes.

“I’m grateful we have got another game on Tuesday that we can really focus on.

“There were certain things that we asked for from the players and a lot of that was in evidence. The speed of the team, working in the right areas, the intent of the team.

“So much was that we asked for.

“But ultimately we are here to win the game and we haven’t won it.

“If we are as good as we are in certain areas of the pitch as we were on Saturday, hopefully it’s a winning performance on Tuesday.” there