Tangerines stay top, Shanks to a late Lawrence double
dundee united 2 Shankland (88, 92) arbroath 1 Donnelly (52)
Deadly Dundee United striker Lawrence Shankland sunk Arbroath with a dramatic late brace – then insisted they can now handle the pressure of being title favourites.
Shankland was the hero for Robbie Neilson’s hopefuls with goals in the 88th and 92nd minute to deflate part-time Arbroath who were on the verge of victory thanks to Luke Donnelly’s 52nd minute strike.
The 24-year-old Shankland took his early-season tally to 12 goals in 11 games to keep them top of the table above Ayr United on goal difference in their quest for promotion back to the Premiership.
Former Ayr hitman Shankland left Dick Campbell’s newly-promoted visitors shell-shocked and believes United proved they are ready to cope with the expectation associated with being so widely-tipped to become champions.
Shankland said: “There was a lot of pressure on us. We were expected to win this game at home but it proved difficult.
“It’s tough when the crowd are getting on your back.
“When you’re passing the ball back it’s not because you want to, you’re just doing it to try and work something.
“But the fans don’t see it that way and for a part-time team, Arbroath are really well organised and hard to break down.
“So we knew we had to be patient and that’s what we were. The last few minutes were enjoyable, although up until then it was hard.
“But I think we showed the character today that we can handle it when there is pressure and expectation.”
Arbroath were hoping for another Tayside triumph having pulled off a shock two weeks earlier in the Challenge Cup.
Former Dundee star Bobby Linn netted the decisive penalty in a nailbiting shoot-out after that tie had finished goalless.
And the Lichties had the incentive of knowing that victory would push them to within a point of the Tangerines.
It was a sticky start from both sides. At 39 minutes, only the woodwork denied the Tangerines the lead. A flowing move down the right saw Liam Smith cut the ball back for Shankland whose first-time effort came crashing back off the post with visiting keeper Darren Jamieson beaten.
But the visitors then surged ahead. Linn worked his magic wide on the left and his cross was inch-perfect for Donnelly to simply prod home past Benjamin Siegrist from three yards.
But United struck with just two minutes left. Paul Mcmullan jinked his way into the final third before threading a neat pass through to Shankland who made no mistake by tucking a finish back across Jamieson and into the corner of the net.
Two minutes into injury-time, Smith crossed for Shankland to stoop and plant a header from eight years to send the home crowd wild.
Arbroath manager Campbell sighed: “That’s what Shankland does for a living. He’s just prolific.
“His wages are probably more than our entire team put together!”