Defender delighted his gamble paid off COMMENT

Mark Durnan was glad he gambled to become Dundee United’s goal hero in their vital victory over Falkirk.

With just eight minutes remaining, he picked up the ball just outside his own penalty area, released it then continued to run forward and was in the right place to smash the ball home from eight yards.

While his manager Ray McKinnon jokingly asked what on earth he was doing all the way up the park, Durnan was glad he took a punt.

He said: “I managed to come out with the ball and I was immediately looking to make a pass and get back in position but there wasn’t one on. So I stepped out a bit more and then thought: ‘Why not keep going?’

“We were 80-odd minutes into the match and nothing had really broken for anyone. I just thought that I would go up and take a chance.

“The ball came in and fell for me and, thankfully, I stuck it away.

“I was just glad to get myself into a good position where I could help win the match. Sometimes you have to take a chance and I’m glad I did so.”

Durnan revealed that it wasn’t the first time he had started and finished off a winning goal, with memories flooding back of his strike against Hibs in a 1-0 Queen of the South win.

He said: “I am not going to boast but I actually scored a similar goal against Hibs at Easter Road a couple of seasons ago, to win that game.

“It was probably even a bit better than this one!” he added with a smile.

“They were both important goals because I think after beating Hibs Queens then went on to take over at the top of the league from Falkirk.

“This time it was about building momentum for United as a squad and making sure we keep doing well so we are up there at the end of the season.”

There was a lovely moment at halftime when the United substitutes stopped to pay tribute to a couple of club legends.

Led by club captain Sean Dillon – ever the gentleman – it was nice to see Simon Murray, Cammy Smith, Blair Spittal, Luis Zwick, Coll Donaldson and Jamie Robson halt their interval workouts to stand and applaud two men who helped humble Barcelona. They then chatted, player to player.

The two heroes of yesteryear were Billy Hainey and Lennart Wing, proud members of the United team that went to the Nou Camp 50 years ago and beat the Spanish giants 2-1 in the Tannadice team’s first tie in continental competition.

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup win was the first in the long line of United’s illustrious and – at times – extraordinary European achievements.

The respect shown by the 2016 team was great to witness and, while they will never scale the heights of the Jerry Kerr and Jim McLean teams, the current crop can write their own, albeit more modest, chapter of club history.

For a result like this gutsy 1-0 victory against a Falkirk side, who will be Championship challengers, proves that the Tangerines have attributes required to win promotion – hard work, patience, self-belief, togetherness and quality.

Whether they manage it or not is another question altogether but it is within their capabilities.

Getting back up to the Premiership may not rank alongside the feats of the likes of Hainey and Wing, or Dave Narey and Paul Sturrock in the glory days.

However, it would certainly be worth celebrating and, who knows, it might just be this set of players who are taking the applause at the end of the season.