Terrors happy with a point from bottom-of-table Jags
One win in seven would be cause for concern for most managers in a notoriously competitive Championship.
However, Dundee United’s Robbie Neilson is looking at the positives with his side, potentially, just four wins away from the title.
A 1-1 divide with Partick Thistle made it two points from a possible nine in the past week for the Terrors as they continue to limp across the finish line.
A Dillon Powers crackerjack had given them a first-half lead before Stuart Bannigan’s penalty earned a point for the Jags.
Reflecting on a share of the spoils, Robbie said: “It wasn’t for the purist, I don’t think, but when you look at the results in the league a lot of them are like that.
“It’s difficult at this time of year to get any free-flowing football. Teams are battling for their lives or going for promotion, so there’s a lot of pressure.
“When you look at the bigger picture, we’ve gained another point at the top of the league and have eight games to go. We’ve got to look at these positives.”
United were returning to Tannadice for the first time since a 2-1 win over Inverness a fortnight ago, a result hailed as the title-clincher.
That will likely remain the case
– the Tangerines are 17 points clear – but defeat at Dunfermline and points dropped at Ayr meant this clash with the bottom-placed Jags took on unexpected pressure.
During the week, boss Neilson had urged his side to “put on a show” on home soil.
In the early stages, it was a horror rather than tour de force as Benjamin Siegrist spread himself to foil Brian Graham and clean up further poor defending in saving Tam O’ware’s header.
Ian Harkes twice danced into the Thistle box, unable to pull the trigger, before his fellow-american midfielder Powers put some Hollywood shine on proceedings to give United the lead on 19 minutes.
Picking up the ball fully 25 yards from goal, he lashed a powerful rightfooted drive into the top corner to lift the majority of the 7,603 crowd as the Terrors looked to set about delivering a thrilling matinee.
The three supporting stars in behind lead role Lawrence Shankland – Pawlett, Paul Mcmullan and Rakish Bingham – linked up ably but couldn’t take advantage before the interval.
After the restart, Harkes tried to play in Shankland, but the midfielder could only find a recovering O’ware with a stray pass.
Paul Watson then hauled down Thistle winger Tommy Robson inside the penalty area, prompting referee Mike Roncone to point to the spot.
Veteran midfielder Bannigan stepped up and rolled under Siegrist’s grasp from 12 yards to heap the pressure back on United.
Louis Appere’s introduction on the hour-mark gave the Tangerines a spark, as the 20-year-old sent one wide moments after coming on.
In the end, neither side did enough to win through, but with secondplaced ICT losing out to Alloa, a point could be another significant result for United as they creep ever-closer to the Premiership.