Caldwell’s men find fight to hinder United

DESPITE putting a brave face on proceedings, Dundee United missed a big opportunity in their quest for promotion.

Robbie Neilson’s side did close the gap on both Ross County and Ayr United but will be hoping they do not live to regret this slip-up against bottom-club Partick Thistle.

It took a second-half penalty from their captain, Fraser Fyvie, to rescue a point from precisely the sort of fixture they ought to be winning comfortably especially when their main rivals make mistakes.

Fyvie’s equaliser cancelled out Kris Doolan’s ninth-minute opener for Gary Caldwell’s relegationthreatened side, who appeared as though they held much loftier ambitions than simply survival.

“We’ve gained a point so are a little bit closer to Ross County and Ayr so we’ve got to remain in a positive mindset,” said Neilson. “It’s frustrating but I thought we were much better in the second half and just need to get back to winning ways.”

Motivation should not have been an issue after Morton had done them a favour by defeating County the previous night. They even had Aidan Nesbitt, their new signing who had previously had spells with Celtic and MK Dons, on the bench and ready to be unleashed if required.

But still the hosts got off to a horror start. Blair Spittal’s corner was met by Doolan who did not even have to shrug off a challenge from a single United defender as he nodded comfortably past Benjamin Siegrist.

Thistle could not believe their luck but gradually, with new arrival Gary Harkins dictating matters, they began to strengthen their grip. Rarely did they mirror a team who had picked up just one point on their Championship travels this season, strutting around the Tannadice turf as though every inch belonged to them.

Miles Storey’s 36th-minute drive from Rachid Bouhenna’s failed clearance was just another indication of their superiority, forcing Siegrist to fist it clear before the Slovakian keeper next foiled Spittal’s low effort from 12 yards.

Nesbitt was thrown on for Fraser Aird at the start of the second half and his presence proved pivotal in turning things round. Stewart Murdoch crossed into the box where Nesbitt was fouled from behind by Sean McGinty, and up stepped Fyvie to convert the spot-kick.

Then, in 74 minutes, Pavol Safranko had the ball in the net but was judged by referee Bobby Madden to have barged Conor Hazard, the new Thistle keeper, in the process.

“It was a soft penalty but we don’t want any bad-luck stories because it’s up to ourselves to start climbing the table,” Caldwell said. “We need to be more clinical but there were still a lot of good aspects to our play.”