Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Moult calls for ‘tin hats’ and fighting spirit to see off Morton
LOUIS Moult is preparing for another battle when Dundee United face Morton tonight.
The striker netted for the 14th time this season to rescue a point for his side in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle.
It was a feisty affair at times, especially when Jim Goodwin’s side took a more direct approach after the break and more aerial balls were contested.
Moult praised his side’s attitude to get back into the game and said more of that will be needed for the trip to Greenock.
“We will massively need that character at Cappielow. If you think that was a battle at Firhill, wait until tonight,” he said.
“I’m going to get my tin hat on, that’s for sure. But I enjoy those types of games.
“It was the same with the pitch at Firhill. It’s not one to play those nice passes in midfield.
“We recognised that in the second half and went a little bit more direct and made the ball drop for us in our favour.
“We played more on the front foot and that’s going to be needed tonight, that’s for sure.”
Dundee United’s results have dropped off of late but has coincided with a return to goalscoring form for the No 9.
Moult has scored six times in his last eight matches after failing to find the net in his previous eight.
Losing his boot in the act of shooting didn’t prevent a sweet strike to equalise on Saturday and it is something the 31-yearold said he may need to address.
“I lost my boot when I scored and it’s happened to me in my last three or four games,” he said. “It happened at Ayr when I had a one-on-one and took a shot without the boot on.
“Against Partick Thistle, when I hit the shot, the boot was actually off my heel. But I just tried to hit the target and thankfully it went in.
“It looks like it’s part of my goal celebration but I’m not really sure what I do when I score, adrenaline just takes over.
“My feet must be shrinking or the boots are growing!”
The Terrors were buoyed by the return of captain Ross Docherty who was withdrawn with around 20 minutes to go, likely with an eye on tonight.
Morton will be hurting after suffering their first defeat since
November at the weekend though encouraged by taking all three points when the sides last met at Tannadice.
“It’s not going to be easy but we have to go there with the right mentality to pick up points,” added Moult.
“We just worry about ourselves, It’s about what we do on the pitch, simple as that.
“When you play as poorly as we did in the first half at Thistle, you look for that reaction and character.
“I would say it’s been questioned in the last few weeks and that’s me being brutally honest.
“Saturday showed me we are still well in there. We’ve got character. We clawed the game back and if any team was going to win it, it was us.”
Overall, it was a disappointing week for Jim Goodwin and United.
Defeat to Airdrie on Tuesday night was followed up with a point at Partick Thistle.
The latter result in isolation was not bad, but not taking full advantage of Raith Rovers’ Friday night slip-up made it more difficult to take.
It also didn’t help that they again started poorly, something that skipper Docherty said needs to be addressed.
Brian Graham gave Partick Thistle an early lead against Dundee United. On the plus side, Goodwin’s men are 23 goals better off than title rivals Rovers, but he expects more twists and turns in the Scottish Championship between now and the end of the season.
“It’s unlikely that Raith are going to claw back that goal difference that we have got right now. So yeah, you could look at it (as an extra point),” said the United boss.
“But we don’t want to have to rely on it, that’s for sure.
“I think there are more twists and turns to come. May 3 is when the league will be decided.
“There are going to be plenty of bumps in the road between now and the end of the season.
“We just have to try to focus on ourselves. I was surprised with the result on Friday night, but full credit to Jim McIntyre and his players.
“That shows real character to come back from a couple of goals down with half an hour to play.
“I thought they deserved the victory on their second-half performance. It was a sore one for Raith Rovers, but definitely a positive for us.”