United’s late show cancels out sloppiness
Dundee United manager Tam Courts praised his side for the second-half revival which hoisted them up to fourth place in the table – after admitting the opening half was the worst they’d played since he took charge.
He feared that their sloppy start might prove costly but, on a day when other results went in their favour, his team’s 96th-minute winner looked to be a seminal moment.
“During our good form earlier in the season, there were a lot of top performances,” he said. “We probably haven’t hit the heady heights that we did then but the first 45 minutes today was probably up there with the worst during my tenure.
“The timing and the manner of the St Mirren goal rocked us a little bit. It dented our confidence and we couldn’t get any rhythm going.
“We just tried to refocus the players at half-time. We made a couple of changes that naturally helped us and, once we got back to level terms, I felt there was only going to be one team that was going on to win the match.”
Marc Mcnulty’s late, late winner was the perfect ending to what had been a difficult day for United.
“What a time and what a moment it was to score,” said Courts. “It’s given us a huge opportunity to go on now and finish the season strongly.
“In the second 45 minutes we just tried to simplify it for the players. I don’t think it was a great spectacle as a game but sometimes that happens at this stage of the season.
“However, in terms of what we were able to create in the second half – sustained pressure, shots on target, hitting the crossbar a few times and scoring a couple of goals – it’s a satisfactory day at the office.
“One of the main reasons we pushed on the way we did was that the players had been concerned at half-time that this wasn’t going to be their day.
“But once they realised they could get back into the game, establish a rhythm and create some chances, it was quite easy for them to keep going for the winner.”
Courts gave 17-year-old winger Miller Thomson his first start but subbed him at half-time. “Miller did well today but younger players also need the senior professionals to be doing well in order to give them a platform,” he explained.