Dundee United 6-1 Cowdenbeath

Simon Murray (left) scored a hat-trick

Dundee United emphatically took apart Cowdenbeath at Tannadice in their second Scottish League Cup group game.

Simon Murray, Lewis Toshney and Cammy Smith all scored quick-fire goals in boss Ray McKinnon's first home match.

Chris Turner responded with a fine strike for Cowdenbeath, but Murray added two more either side of half-time and Henri Anier added a sixth before the end.

Elsewhere in Group C, Dunfermline beat Arbroath 3-0 to go second.

The victory for United was the first in 90 minutes under new manager Mckinnon after his return to the Tannadice hotseat in May.

McKinnon handed starts to six of the club's new signings, but it was one of the retained players from last season who handed the home side the perfect start.

Tope Obadeyi, who made the move from Kilmarnock in the summer, showed great pace down the left-hand side and his cross into the box was hammered home by Murray.

Before 10 minutes were on the clock United had doubled their lead.

Scott Fraser floated in a free-kick to the back post and Toshney ghosted in to volley home from the edge of the six-yard box.

United were passing the ball with slick precision while Cowdenbeath were struggling to cope with the pace from the Championship side.

And the Fifers' task became huge as United notched their third of the evening.

Fraser clipped the ball through to Smith, who slid the ball underneath the body of David McGurn.

Lewis Toshney (right) slides in to finish Scott Fraser's cross

Midway through the half Cowdenbeath reduced the deficit with the consolation, but it was the goal of the game.

Turner was allowed space to twist and turn 30 yards out before thundering a shot that was still rising as it passed goalkeeper Cammy Bell into the United net.

United though restored their three-goal advantage when Obadeyi again provided Murray with a simple task to knock home number four.

The home side continued to dominate in the second half and Murray thought he had grabbed his third of the evening after 70 minutes when he bundled the ball home from close range, only for referee Crawford Allan to blow for an infringement.

The former Arbroath player had only to wait two minutes though to complete his hat-trick when he clipped the ball home from inside the six-yard box after the Cowden defence failed to clear.

United boss Mckinnon gave new Dutch striker Nick van der Velden 20 minutes to show the Tannadice faithful a sign of what they could look forward to this season.

The home side came close to a sixth of the evening when a Cammy Smith shot was dropped by Cowdenbeath keeper David Mcgurn who managed to recover before the ball crossed the line.

And number six arrived when Henri Anier strode away from the visitors defence to fire home for a comprehensive victory for United over the league two club.

Dunfermline went above the inactive Inverness CT in Group C in the evening's other game.

Michael Moffat got on the end of Gavin Reilly's cross just before half-time.

Moffat then turned provider for Andy Geggan to slide in the second, before he swept in the third from Ryan Williamson's cross.

Simon Murray (left) celebrates after netting a hat-trick

Dundee United striker Simon Murray told BBC Scotland: "It was good to get the hat-trick. The main thing was the performance, we knew it would be a hard game. We just had to come out with the right attitude and apply ourselves.

"The manager said 'look, we've got to go right from the start', against Arbroath (on Friday) maybe it was a bit slow at times. We had a few chances but we just never put them away. But tonight we scored two quick goals.

"We've got lots of different options. Cammy Smith's very creative, obviously Tope (Obadeyi) getting down the line and balls in the box. We've got chances coming from all directions at the moment.

"Last season I only started nine games. I'm just hoping I can continue the form from the end of the season and continue the goals."