Ladbrokes Premiership: Dundee United secure vital win
Published:
Dundee United picked up a vital three points in the fight for Ladbrokes Premiership survival thanks to a stunning effort from Paul Paton.
A frantic end to the first half saw Hearts’ Jordan McGhee given his marching orders and Guy Demel put the hosts 1-0 up. The Jam Tarts threatened to pile more misery on basement boys United, however, when Jamie Walker levelled the scores shortly after the restart.
The Terrors fought back in some style though, with Paton’s stunning 25-yard volley ensuring maximum points.
The win was slightly marred by Henri Anier’s sending off just 20 minutes after coming on, but with three points in the bag, Mixu Paatelainen’s men retain some hope in the race for survival.
At the opposite end of the table Celtic took advantage of the postponement to Partick Thistle v Aberdeen to extend their lead over the Dons.
However, the Bhoys’ 3-0 victory over Inverness wasn’t as one-sided as the scoreline suggests.
The Caley Jags wasted three clear-cut opportunities to go ahead with the game locked at 0-0 before Gary Mackay-Steven made them pay for their profligacy after 54 minutes.
Leigh Griffiths put the game beyond doubt just five minutes later and rounded off the win with his 32nd goal of the season deep into injury time.
Elsewhere, Lee Clark’s reign as Kilmarnock manager started with a share of the points after a 0-0 draw with Dundee but it could have been much better if not for two goal line clearances from the Dark Blues in the first half.
The remaining two games taking place at the weekend ended in victory for the home sides with Ross County and St Johnstone prevailing 2-1 over Hamilton and Motherwell respectively.
The Staggies went 1-0 up after 45 minutes courtesy of Alex Schalk’s first league goal for the club but it seemed as though things could turn sour for the hosts after Jamie Reckord was sent off just seconds after the restart.
The Accies made the extra man count and tied things up through Dougie Imrie on 66 minutes but 10-man County hit back through Ian McShane and his delightful free-kick ensured maximum points for Jim McIntyre’s men.
Motherwell’s scrap to avoid a relegation dogfight looked to have been given a shot in the arm when Louis Moult put the visitors ahead after half an hour at McDiarmid Park.
It wasn’t to be, however, as David Wotherspoon hit an equaliser just before the break to swing momentum back towards the hosts.
Motherwell rallied in the second half and looked to have secured a well-earned point only for Tam Scobbie to nod home in injury time to wrap a home win for the Saints.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
