The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
United edge out Saints
Dundee United penalty king Nicky Clark earned what could be a crucial bonus point in the Betfred Cup Group C clash at McDiarmid Park.
Clark netted the final spot-kick of the shoot-out after the Tangerines had drawn 0-0 with Johnstone last night.
That leaves Mi c k y Mellon’s men at the top of the group by a whisker, with Peterhead likewise winning their p e n a l ty decider after
Kelty Hearts.
The Blue Toon welcome the Perth men on Saturday, while the Tangerines have played all their fixtures.
After another goalless 90 minutes, Stevie May was up first for his penalty and it was saved by United goalie Deniz.
Marc McNulty edged United ahead from the spot then Callum Booth got the hosts off the mark.
Ian Harkes restored the Tangerines’ lead before a a 1-1 draw at bizarre kick from ex-United man Craig Conway, who thought his shot had been saved but the ball spun back over the goalline.
Ta n n a d i c e defender Mark Connolly blasted over to give Saints hope but Scott Tanser’s kick was then saved by Deniz.
United skipper Mark Reynolds made no mistake and the same went for Liam Craig for the home team.
The scene was set for Clark, who swept the ball past his namesake to keep United in the hunt for qualification.
Both Saints and United made six changes to their line- ups following their Fr i d a y night matches against Kilmarnock and St Mirren respectively.
The visitors handed a first start to Cameroon midfielder Jeando Fuchs, while Paul McMullan was rewarded for a lively display as a sub against the Buddies with a promotion from the bench.
Saints, meanwhile, began with Callum Hendry and Chris Kane up front.
T here was a moving moment of remembrance prior to kick- off, with a lone piper playing as the teams came out of the tunnel.
When the action started there was barely a minute on the c lock when St Jo h n s t o n e ’ s David Wotherspoon had a low shot saved by Tannadice goalkeeper Deniz, who was in his usual c up spot instead of regular first choice Benjamin Siegrist.
United started to see a lot of the ball, however, and Fuchs seemed to settle into the match quite nicely.
On 10 minutes, home keeper Zander Clark miscontrolled a passback to concede a corner , which was nodded just over by United centre-back Ryan Edwards.
T hree minutes later, Hendry cut inside before firing wide of the post from the edge of the United box.
McMu l l a n , who was looking lively, went off on a mazy run inside the Saints box and waited in vain for a chance to shoot before running the ball out for a goal-kick.
On 21 minutes, Fuchs was knocked to the ground by Craig Bryson just outside the away box, earning the Perth player the first yellow card.
United’s Calum Butcher saw space open up for him after a sweeping move but his shot was just a few inches too high.
On 31 minutes, nice work by Adrian Sporle, who was having a decent match, saw him cut inside from the left corner flag before playing in McMullan, who poked his shot past the post.
Three minute l a t e r, Hendry pulled a shot wide of the target at the other end.
Deniz dropped a cross to cause a bit of panic in the United box but the sides couldn’t be separated at the break.
With 52 minutes gone, Saints squandered a great chance when Kane played in Hendry. The striker bent backwards and his shot flew over the bar.
Five mi n u t e s l a t e r, Connolly picked out McMullan, who played the ball on to striker McNulty. His strike was blocked, though, and the hosts cleared the danger.
Connolly then saved
day for United when he took the ball off Kane’s toes as the frontman prepared to shoot.
The Tangerines were winning corner after corner as they went all out for the win.
The visitors replaced Fuchs with Harkes on 62 minutes, while Saints brought on May for Hendry five minutes later.
Play was swinging from end to end now and Deniz was the hero for the Ta n n a d i c e men on 72 minutes when he dived to push away Shaun Rooney’s net-bound header, while Connolly did well to block May’s rebound.
There was a flurry of substitutions as both sides readied themselves for the closing stages.
Ex-United man Conway, Michael O’Halloran and Murray Davidson all came on for St Johnstone, while the visitors introduced Louis Appere and Luke Bolton.
O’Halloran tried to sneak a shot inside United’s near post on 88 minutes but Deniz was alert to the danger. Despite all the changes and the pushing for ward, the scoreline stayed the same as the 90 minutes came to a close.
It was a point apiece, with the extra bonus going to United after an exciting penalty shoot-out.
● Peterhead remained unbeaten in the group with their shoot-out win over Kelty after the sides finished level at 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Neither side could find the breakthrough before the break but Gary Fraser gave the League One side the lead four minutes into the second half.
How e v e r , B a r r y Ferguson’s Lowland League side equalised on 66 minutes, James Stevenson scoring from a free-kick to take the game to penalties.