The Sunday Post (Inverness)

Laszlo is defiant after United put to sword

- By Euan Mcarthur sport@sundaypost.com

Defiant Dundee United boss Csaba Laszlo last night vowed to stay in charge of Dundee United, despite irate fans calling for his head in this Ross County capitulati­on.

This was as bad as it’s been under Laszlo at the hands of a team they’re supposed to challenge for promotion. By the 52nd minute they were 5-1 down with many of their followers opting for a premature exit having seen enough. Those who stayed witnessed the stupidity of substitute Stewart Murdoch, who was shown a straight red card in 59 minutes for a stamp on Jamie Lindsay, having only been on the park three minutes.

There were chants at half-time, midway through the second-half, and at full-time for the beleaguere­d Hungarian’s removal.

Chairman Mike Martin will find it hard to accept this kind of offering in the quest for a top-flight return.

A shambolic first-half display left the hosts trailing 3-1 after former United striker Billy Mckay helped himself to a double before Sean Kelly’s hopeful free-kick crept in at the far post with keeper Matej Rakovan badly at fault. Things descended from there with Mckay claiming his hat-trick and Joshua Mullin getting the goal his overall efforts deserved fo a County side who couldn’t have dreamed of such a stroll on Tayside.

Asked if he would consider resigning, Laszlo said: “I don’t think this is the right question right now but, at the same time, it’s a terrible result.

“It’s the worst I’ve felt as Dundee United manager and we should all take

responsibi­lity. It’s not just about one or two people,” he said.

“It’s not easy to find words after a defeat like this in our home stadium.

“I don’t expect the fans to be happy but, even through we’ve lost five goals at home, I still don’t think we’re that bad.

“I always talk to the chairman. That is nothing new.

“They were very easy goals to avoid. We killed ourselves because of that. “Stewart Murdoch then makes a stupid foul after just minutes on the field.

“The only way we can recover is to win the next game. You can’t recover just like by going home and sleeping. It’s always about the next match.

“But I still have confidence in the team. I believe in my players. We’re a good team and this was a really unlucky day.

“We just have to try and pick ourselves up for next weekend. It won’t be an easy run of games coming up but we must fight for everything.

“We want to get back to the top league

and we shouldn’t be pushing away the responsibi­lity.”

Mckay began the rout in 11 minutes. Rakovan could only parry Mullin’s cross and the Northern Ireland internatio­nal was on hand to bundle home from close-range.

The home team briefly restored parity in 17 minutes when Fraser Aird crossed for Pavol Safranko to finish with a smart volley, but their resistance ended there. Mckay was gifted his second just before the half-hour mark. Rakovan punched Mullin’s cross right to him and he gratefully lashed home.

By 41 minutes it was 3-1. Kelly’s curling free-kick eluded the entire home defence before sneaking in at Rakovan’s far post.

Within five minutes of the restart Mullin was afforded ample time to steer home Mckay’s cross. Then, in 52 minutes, Mckay rounded things off with a simple tap-in from Mullin’s assist, prior to Murdoch’s dismissal.

It was something resembling a training exercise towards the end, with County rightly soaking up the win. “You can focus on the the opposition’s deficienci­es but this result speaks volumes for our players,” said Stuart Kettlewell, the Ross County co-manager.

“All credit to the lads for coming to a place like Tannadice and getting such an emphatic win.”

 ??  ?? Dundee United’s Pavol Safranko has an attempt at goal
Dundee United’s Pavol Safranko has an attempt at goal
 ??  ?? Ross County’s Billy Mckay celebrates the second of his three goals at Tannadice
Ross County’s Billy Mckay celebrates the second of his three goals at Tannadice

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