Boss hails ‘massive’ result for Tangerines
Dundee United struggled against 10-man Queen of the South but held onto a solitary goal advantage to secure three points and close the gap on the front runners.
Manager Robbie Neilson admitted: “I’m just pleased to get three points on the board.
“To come here and get three points ... it’s always tough at Palmerston and we’re one of the few teams to have won here this season.”
The Tannadice side had looked set for a goal rush after Barry Macguire was red carded, but Neilson said: “When a team goes down to 10 men they can go gung-ho and Queens did just that and it has to be remembered too they still have Stephen Dobbie and Lyndon Dykes up front so there’s always a danger.
“So all in all it was a massive, massive result.”
By contrast Queens boss Gary Naysmith was disappointed to get nothing out of the game: “It was all down to one mistake – the ball should have been cleared and instead it was a penalty and down to 10 men.
“But for the second half the play was outstanding and we dominated throughout that period ... the breaks have just gone against us.”
The Tangerines, who had defeated Queens in their two earlier meetings in the season, had made a confident start, prodding away at the Palmerston defence but without creating any real opening.
Queens on the other hand relied on the quick break but at that stage neither qos:
(4-4-2) – Martin 7, Mercer 6, Marshall 7, Macguire 5 (Fordyce 6), Doyle 6, Stirling 6, Jacobs 8 (Mcgrath 84), Low 7, Wilson 6, Dykes 6, Dobbie 6. Substitutes not used – Leighfield, Brownlie, Murray. dundee united:
(4-4-2) – Siegrist 6, Seaman 6, Robson 6 , Gomis 7, Harkes 6, Bouhana 7, Pawlett 8 (Stanton), Mcmullan 7 (Watson 76 4), Clark 7, Safranko 6 (Sow 69 5), Frans 6. Substitutes not used – Laidlaw, Booth, Sow, Nesbitt, Smith.
keeper had been really tested. It wasn’t until the quarter hour that any real threat developed when Peter Pawlett twisted his way past a couple of defenders and lashed in a drive from the edge of the box only to see it shave the outside of the post.
The visitors could then have snatched the opener when a corner reached Pavol Safranko on his own on the edge of the six-yard box but he side-footed his effort at goal wide of the mark.
Queens began to creep more into the game as the half wore on but the United defenders never really looked stretched.
And it was Queens’ keeper Alan Martin that kept the scoresheet blank when he turned a header from Frederic Frans round the upright following a corner.
But five minutes before the break the game changed completely when Macguire tried to recover a poor back pass and brought down Pawlett to concede a penalty and receive a red card.
Nicky Clark made no mistake from the spot with a low shot into the corner of the net against one of his former clubs.
Queens regrouped after the interval but United, with the extra man, were quick to set the pace and Paul Mcmullen was unlucky to see a 20-yard drive tipped over the top by keeper Martin.
But Stephen Dobbie, who had been well shepherded up to that point, made them aware that the game wasn’t quite over with a free kick that went just round the upright with keeper Benjamin Siegrist nowhere.
It sparked off a shaky spell for United as the Dumfries men rallied and Kyle Jacobs came close to equalising with a header which Siegrist just managed to hold under his crossbar.
And the home side were unlucky not to level things with 20 minutes to go when Jacobs sent in a raking shot which crashed off the bar.
Siegrist then kept Queens at bay again when he pulled down a shot from Dykes.
At this stage it was the Dumfries men making the running and leaving the United side looking ragged and unsure but they just could not find the net and pinch a point from the clash.