McHattie bullet puts McNamara in the firing line
THEY had been urged to rise to the occasion by their manager in honour of Ralph Milne, but instead Dundee United slumped to second-bottom in the table with their fourth straight league defeat which saw Jackie McNamara come under increasing pressure.
Milne’s sad passing last Sunday provoked an outpouring of emotion among United supporters who rolled up to Tannadice in their droves hoping to witness the sort of performance fit for such a legend like Milne who’d graced this very stage during the club’s illustrious 1980s spell both domestically and in Europe.
Many of those fans shared fond memories of Milne who often stole the show with his unique brand of attacking play, but the current side produced an instantly forgettable display, and even led to a small minority at the end calling for McNamara’s removal.
Kilmarnock, for their part, gatecrashed the party as they went on to celebrate their first win of the new campaign, despite leaving it late through Kevin McHattie’s dramatic 88th-minute winner.
Gary Locke’s spirited side took until the seventh attempt but McHattie’s splendid strike gave them three precious points after Billy Mckay’s second-half penalty for the hosts cancelled out Kallum Higginbotham’s 44th minute opener from the spot for the Ayrshire club.
There was a minute’s silence prior to kick-off in memory of Milne and the club’s goodwill gesture of reducing admission prices made for a healthy crowd.
McNamara handed debuts to on-loan Reading midfielder Aaron Kuhl as well as loanee Fulham striker Adam Taggart.
United, whose fans rose for a round of applause in the fourth minute to commemorate Milne’s early strike which sent them on their way to lifting the Scottish Premier League title at Dens Park back in 1983, enjoyed a lively start with Taggart seeing his early effort fly over Kilmarnock keeper Jamie MacDonald’s crossbar.
Soon after, Blair Spittal crossed for Billy Mckay but he saw his left-foot shot saved by MacDonald who quickly become the saviour for the visitors with some heroics.
But Killie, slowly but surely, found their feet and put together a decent 35th minute move which saw Craig Slater and Darryl Westlake set up Josh Magennis, only for his shot on the turn to be blocked by United defensive duo Mark Durnan and Callum Morris.
United stepped up the pressure towards the break and Scott Fraser released Ryan McGowan whose shot from inside the box sailed over the bar.
However, Kilmarnock went ahead on the 44th minute.
Greg Kiltie’s cross from the left was aimed for Rory McKenzie and United captain Sean Dillon rather needlesly stuck out his his leg with his opponent turning away from goal.
McKenzie hit the ground with referee Brian Colvin having no hesitation to point to the spot, allowing Higginbotham to step-up and send home keeper Luis Zwick the wrong way from the spot as the visitors enjoyed taking a rare lead.
United began the second half on the front-foot as Mckay fed Ryan Dow but his shot was deflected wide for a corner.
On the hour mark, Fraser almost levelled when he unleashed a left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area, only for it to skid just past MacDonald’s far post.
But in 66 minutes United equalised from the penalty spot when Mckay slotted home after Lee Ashcroft was adjudged to have handled Spittal’s shot.
With 10 minutes left, Mckay almost won it for United with a cute back-heel from Dow’s cross, but MacDonald foiled him with a reflex save.
Then, two minutes later, substitute Darko Bodul missed a great chance for the winner by slicing his close-range effort well wide.
And, in 83 minutes, MacDonald rescued Killie again when he defied Dow at point-blank range.
However, McHattie was the hero for the Ayrshire side right at the end as he picked up a loose ball on the angle to fire home a 30-yard low bullet into the net past the well beaten Zwick.
What was meant to be a match tinged with good memories turned into another irritating afternoon for the Tayside club, while their opponents savoured some muchneeded light relief from their own early-season troubles.