KIDS PROVE ALL RIGHT ON NIGHT FOR McKINNON
LOGAN CHALMERS showed the kind of coolness under pressure absent from almost everyone else on the pitch to re-establish Dundee United’s loosening grasp on the Irn-Bru Cup and prompt manager Ray McKinnon to put his faith in his teenagers for the rest of the competition.
The holders were struggling against a grizzled Linfield side that couldn’t convert their own chances when the 17-year-old replaced Joe Piggott, who had failed to cause any trouble alongside Patrick N’Koyi, midway through the second half.
Chalmers reduced the average age of an already inexperienced team, but also provided a spark. His arrival coincided with the Tannadice side’s best spell and, after Graham Taylor had been denied by the post, his crisp finish in the fourth minute of injury time possessed the steel and composure of someone much older.
McKinnon, who fielded Sam Stanton in midfield and gave Stewart Murdoch the captaincy in central defence, played so many youngsters because of injuries to senior pros such as Tam Scobbie, Paul Quinn, Scott Fraser and Lewis Toshney and an unwillingness to risk anyone else ahead of a league visit to Livingston next weekend.
His team got there in the end, though. And he insists he will carry on playing the kids.
‘I will stick with them,’ said McKinnon. ‘I absolutely will.
‘There might be a sprinkling of two or three players coming in, but I think we have five or six young kids on in the last round and we had more in this one. We will try to do that right through.
‘We were left very, very thin on the ground because of injuries and couldn’t take the risk of someone getting injured and being left depleted for a big game next week.
‘We won the cup last year and we want to win every game, but we need to develop these youngsters.
‘We had possibly ten Under-19s on that park at the end against a really strong, experienced Linfield team. They were magnificent in the last 20 minutes and it was a great finish from Logan.’
McKinnon felt Stanton was his best performer on the night and saw him carve open Linfield after just four minutes, breaking through thanks to a one-two with Matthew Smith and shooting just wide.
It would be United’s only effort of note, however, until Smith sent a speculative effort over from distance in the dying moments of the first half.
They didn’t quite have to withstand a bombardment in the interim, but they most definitely played second fiddle to a stronger and more streetwise team and needed goalkeeper Deniz Mehmet to be very much on his toes.
Aaron Burns forced an early save from the former Turkey Under-19 internationalist and Andrew Waterworth will feel he should have tested him when heading over a great Kirk Millar cross from an unmarked position inside the area.
Mehmet then touched a Waterworth shot wide at the near post before producing a good block from a drive from Robert Garrett ten minutes before the interval.
If the first half had been passable entertainment for the rather sparse crowd, the second period was largely awful until that dramatic denouement.
Mehmet then had to produce a couple of late saves before United offered the first hint of the rally to come with six minutes to play.
Smith broke up the left and delivered a low ball into the centre that was knocked on to Taylor on the right by Archie Thomas. His low shot beat the keeper and came back off the inside of the far post.
Chalmers then forced a save from keeper Gareth Deane with a shot from distance early in injury time.
With the clock ticking, Thomas fed the ball out right to Gavin Ritchie and his unorthodox shot was pawed into the centre of the area by the right hand of Deane. Chalmers pounced, slamming the ball home from just over 12 yards.
‘Without sounding snobby or arrogant, I thought we controlled most of the game and had the best chances,’ said Linfield manager David Healy.