Quinn happy just to be on the pitch after illness brought him to brink of quitting
DUNDEE UNITED
Fyvie 55
CRUSADERS
Cushley 67, Whyte 90
1
Losing an injury-time winner to a part-time side to end his side’s reign as Irn-bru Cup holders wasn’t exactly the ideal first game back for returning Dundee United centre-back Paul Quinn.
But when you come as close to retirement as the former Aberdeen and Motherwell defender did, then Saturday’s exit to Crusaders pales into insignificance.
The 32-year-old was substituted just ten minutes into a league clash with Falkirk in Septemberaftercomplaining of feeling unwell. It stemmed from a tooth abscess, from which the poison began spreading through the rest of his body. Two days after the match at the Falkirk Stadium he was sent for urgent medical checks after his heart-rate went through the roof.
From there it was a case of waiting to see if he’d ever be well enough to play again. While delighted to have been given the all-clear, it was a frustrating two months for a player already in the twilight days of his career.
“The black and white of it was if I didn’t get the right result I’d have to retire. That was as plain as day, so it was worrying. God must have been on my side,” said a reflective Quinn.
“I got looked after. Everyone around about me was there for me, and it’s just about building myself back up.
“Normally if you’re injured you can work on other parts of your body. I was at home with a heart monitor on and I couldn’t do anything. It wasn’t just about getting back at training it was about getting moving again and getting every single muscle in my body working.
“I feel now that I’m almost there and it was perfect for me to get the 90 minutes in. On an individual note, it’s good to get back out there and get back to as close to peak fitness as I can.”
As United visibly ran out of energy in the second half of their play-off final against Hamilton Accies last year, getting to the final and winning the Irn-bru Cup may have been more of a curse than a blessing, and the ability to concentrate on the league will be a silver lining in the wake of Saturday’s loss to their Northern Irish opponents.
With the exception of a 15-minuteperiodatthebeginning of the second half, Crusaders will feel they deserved to be in the semi-final. They were the stronger side in the opening period and even though they fell behind to a Fraser Fyvie thunderstrike, they fought back valiantly: equalising through Dave Cushley before Gavin Whyte won the tie in injury-time.
Some of United’s fringe players did not give a good account of themselves in front of new manager Csaba Laszlo, though Quinn can be relatively happy with his individual performance, having pulled off a couple of lastditch challenges during the attritional encounter.
“The new manager I’m pretty sure is aware of my situation over the last seven or eight weeks and will understand that I’m a yard or so away still,” said Quinn. “Timing is very important in football, you know. It’s just before Christmas, the games will be coming thick and fast. First and foremost I need to be available and help the squad because there’s no team in this league that will get promoted with just 11 players.
“Nobody enjoys getting beaten, especially in the manner we did, but we need to quickly move on and look at the bigger picture. Last year the boys won the cup and didn’t make the Premiership, which is our main aim.
“It’ll take a few days to put it as bluntly as that but that bigger picture has always been the focus on the league.”