Lewis happy to extend his Utd stay

AS HARRY Lewis warmed up at half-time at Tannadice on Friday night along with the other subs, it crossed his mind his year-long loan at Dundee United might have just 45 minutes left.

Unless the men on the pitch could overturn a one-goal deficit against Dunfermline, the season would be ending on the final whistle.

He’d be heading back to parent club Southampton and the only consolation he could come up with was the fact he’d be back home in England in time for his younger brother Max’s 18th birthday party on Saturday night.

Little over 45 minutes later, not only was the 20-year-old looking forward to the season continuing for at least another week, he was reflecting on being one of the United heroes of a remarkable fightback to win the play-off quarter-final 2-1 and set up a semi against Livingston that kicks off tonight.

His chance to get back to the action came when Scott McDonald grabbed a 57th-minute equaliser and, as he jumped to celebrate, first-choice goalie Deniz damaged a knee and had to come off.

The bizarre incident sparked a crazy, if enjoyable half-hour or so.

“I saw Deniz go down but we’ve just scored a goal so I didn’t know if it was some kind of elaborate celebration he was going for or what it was,” he said.

“I saw him down so I started getting ready but then he got back up so I sat back down. Then he went back down so I was on.

“It’s not nice to come into a game when your mate gets injured like Deniz did but it was good to get out on the dancefloor again.

“I don’t think I’ve ever come on in a game before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It wasn’t until I got out on the pitch that it really hit me that I’m in a game here.

“Within about two minutes of coming on I had a save to make and I think that helped get me in the game.”

That stop helped pave the way for Sam Stanton to grab a dramatic