IAN ROACHE

Dundee United fans were feeling glad all over when they realised they still had Lawrence

Shankland.

For the Scotland international to be on the books after the January transfer window is something to celebrate.

He was the hero the last time these teams met at Tannadice, of course, with his last-gasp double.

However, the home supporters were in bits and pieces as another striker, Craig Wighton, stole the headlines on Saturday.

It had all looked so promising, too, before the game as Tangerines owner Mark Ogren praised Shankland and said it would take a bid of more than £3 million to persuade them to sell their prize asset in the summer. What followed, though, was one of the most frustrating matches of United’s season.

We even got to witness a rare Shankland miss – an absolute peach of a chance on 70 minutes that saw his shot saved by excellent Arbroath goalie Derek Gaston.

Instead of Shankland, the hero was to be Arbroath’s on-loan forward Wighton.

To have that particular former Dundee player end their unbeaten run in the league just added to the United gloom.

The Tangerines deserved to lose and that they struggled to break down the visitors wasn’t an accident.

They came up against a top tactician in Lichties manager Dick Campbell, who won the battle of the bosses against Robbie Neilson.

Indeed, the Gayfield men should be proud of their performances against United this season.

It is difficult to think of another team in the division to have given the leaders such a hard time as they have done.

SNS. Pictures: Left: Arbroath’s Craig Wighton, far left, celebrates with team-mates after scoring the winning goal against Dundee United at Tannadice; right: The Lichties’ Thomas O’brien tackles United’s Liam Smith.