Ross Graham’s close-range header proved decisive as Dundee United beat St Mirren to secure a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final place.
The towering defender got the vital touch from a couple of yards out after Will Ferry’s excellent corner delivery wasn’t dealt with by the St Mirren backline.
What did you make of it, United fans? Was that a deserved victory? Should it have been more comfortable?
Image source, SNSDundee United manager Jim Goodwin told BBC Scotland: "We were well worthy of the win in the end. St Mirren came fast out of the blocks.
"Over the piece, we controlled large periods within the first half. Deservedly got ourselves in front. We wanted that second goal to kill the game off.
"As much as we didn't have similar control in the second half, we managed the game really well.
"It's a massive clean sheet as well. The structure and the discipline of the team was excellent. The three centre-backs were outstanding and I have to give a special mention to Kevin Holt, playing in the middle of the park, but he did exactly what we hoped he would."
Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSUnited will rightly be most consumed by ensuring they stay in the Scottish Premiership and anything more might feel like a bonus.
However, that bonus - getting to a cup quarter-final so early in the season - will be a considerable boost offering confidence and belief they are more than equipped to compete.
It’s been a more than solid start to the season. They seem to have recruited well and the early signs are positive.
The summer signings have adjusted to the physicality and pace of Scottish football quickly, and Goodwin must be praised for finding players so suited to our brand of the game.
Image source, SNSWill Ferry (right) closes down St Mirren's Oisin Smyth
Will Ferry. The left-back has taken to Scottish football very quickly and looks like he's been playing up here for years.
At wing-back, it's his attacking qualities that have been more obvious. He offers an option in attack with his high positioning out wide, and his deliveries tend to be dangerous and pacy.
Image source, SNSDundee United: Walton, Adegboyega, Gallagher, Graham, Holt, Ferry, Babunski, Sibbald, Stephenson, Trapanovski, Van der Sande.
Substitutes: Richards, Moult, Odada, Middleton, Fotheringham, Docherty, Thomson, Cleall-Harding, Ubochioma.
St Mirren: Balcombe, Fraser, Gogic, Iacovitti, Rooney, Smyth, Idowu, Tanser, F Taylor, Mandron, Olusanya.
Substitutes: Urminsky, Bwomono, R Taylor, Kenny, Sutherland, Brown, Mooney, Scott, Ayunga.
Image source, SNSJim Goodwin does not expect former club St Mirren to be suffering from "fatigue" when they visit Dundee United in Sunday's Scottish League Cup tie.
Stephen Robinson's Buddies lost 3-1 away to Brann on Thursday, with the Norwegian side triumphing 4-2 in the Conference League third qualifying round.
United will have had eight days to prepare, with their last game away to Ross County in the Premiership on 10 August.
"Stephen Robinson has done fantastic at St Mirren in the last couple of seasons with the top-six finishes and getting them into Europe," said Dundee United manager Goodwin.
"They can be very proud of their efforts. They played against a very good Brann side. I don't think the fatigue thing will play a part because St Mirren have got quite a strong squad with good strength in depth.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see maybe four or five changes from the team that started against Brann. They have players they can bring in who are very good quality players.
"I'm sure Stephen will be disappointed with the last couple of results and will be looking to make amends, but it's a game we've got to approach in a positive fashion."
Goodwin believes the League Cup "can be significant in terms of how the season pans out".
"I'd be lying if I said it was a priority competition for us because the league is everyone's bread and butter and the main objective for us is to stay in the league," he explained.
"But at the same time, if we win on Sunday, all of a sudden we find ourselves in the quarter-final of this competition and if the draw is kind to you, you may get a day out at Hampden [in the semi-finals] - which is what everyone wants."
Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland
Image source, SNSAlex Gogic and his St Mirren team-mates return from Norway battle scarred
St Mirren will head to Tannadice with a combination of regrets and pride in performance as they look to extend their unbeaten run there to five games in the Premier Sports Cup last 16.
They ran Brann close on Thursday until two late goals took the more experienced Norwegian side through to the Europa Conference League play-offs.
Now Stephen Robinson's team must recover from their travels as they look to avoid a third consecutive defeat in a week after Aberdeen ended their four-game unbeaten start to the season.
In contrast, Dundee United had a shaky start, losing their group-stage opener to League 1 champions Falkirk, but have since gone five unbeaten, albeit they have had to settle for a point in both games on their Premiership return.
Will Luca Stephenson be the latest summer arrival to impress if the 20-year-old on-loan Liverpool wing-back is handed a debut by Jim Goodwin?
Read the Premier Sports Cup preview in full here.
Image source, SNSDundee United manager Jim Goodwin has been speaking to the media before their Scottish League Cup second round fixture against St Mirren on Sunday.
Here are the key lines from his press conference:
He’s delighted to have completed the deal for Luca Stephenson and says the on-loan Liverpool defender is "a really good addition and will certainly add quality to the squad".
Despite a busy summer of transfers, Goodwin is still looking to strengthen, especially in the forward areas, saying: "We need another one at least at the top end."
On letting Tony Watt go, he says: "He was very important player but he doesn't want to be a squad player and we couldn't guarantee him those minutes."
He doesn’t think fatigue will be an issue for St Mirren after their European tie because Stephen Robinson has a strong squad depth.
On returning skipper Ross Docherty, Goodwin says he will be a part of the squad at the weekend and he’s "been very cautious with his rehab and we've been very tentative with introducing him back into full training".
Vicko Sevelj will miss the game due to suspension but "everybody else is fit and desperate to play some part in the game".
Goodwin insists his team are "still very much a work in progress" and he’s been pleasantly surprised with how quickly David Babunski and Kristijan Trapanovski have settled in and how Declan Gallagher, Jack Walton and Craig Sibbald "have stepped up to the challenge".
Image source, Getty ImagesDundee United have recruited a player with "fabulous pedigree" in Liverpool's Luca Stephenson, says manager Jim Goodwin.
The 20-year-old wing-back, who has penned a season-long loan deal, is yet to make a competitive appearance for the Anfield club but gained first-team experience in a temporary stint at Barrow last season.
After a successful loan spell with the English League Two side, Stephenson was included Arne Slot's 28-man squad for Liverpool's pre-season tour of the United States, where he featured in wins over Arsenal, Manchester United and Real Betis.
“Luca is an exciting prospect who arrives at Tannadice with a fabulous pedigree, having spent the entirety of his youth career within an elite-level environment," Goodwin said
"Luca can also play in a variety of different positions - a quality which will be vital during an unrelenting league season which will no doubt bring various niggles and knocks to the squad.”
Former Sunderland academy player Stephenson added: "It's a massive opportunity for me and the next step in my development - playing in big fixtures, in front of massive crowds is exactly what I need to progress my career.
"I watched the derby and the atmosphere was incredible - if that doesn't excite you I don't know what will."
Image source, SNSUnited have already improved on last season's League Cup campaign, where they were knocked out at the group stage after defeats to The Spartans and Partick Thistle
The League Cup hasn't been a particularly happy hunting ground for Dundee United in recent times.
They haven't gone beyond the quarter-finals since the 2014-15 season - when they were beaten 2-0 by Celtic in the final - and they have suffered four group-stage exits in the last six seasons.
Jim Goodwin's side avoided that particular fate this time around, and will fancy their chances of progressing to the last eight on Sunday against a St Mirren side who face a quick turnaround after their Conference League clash away to Norwegian side Brann on Thursday.
There are not many recent happy memories against the Paisley outfit, with United winning just two of the last 12 meetings in all competitions. However, the Tangerines have come out on top in the last three League Cup ties against St Mirren - a 3-0 success in 1992, followed by successive 1-0 wins in '93 and '94. A positive omen perhaps.
David Babunski and Kristijan Trapanovski announced themselves to the United faithful in this season's group stage, and Goodwin will hope his exciting Macedonian duo can help fire his side into the latter stages of the competition.
Image source, SNSThe draw for the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup will take place on Sunday after the Celtic v Hibs tie, which kicks off at 15:00 BST.
The draw will be shown live on Premier Sports following their coverage of the game from Parkhead.
All quarter-final ties due to be played on the weekend of September 21-22.
Dundee United are hoping to sign 20-year-old Liverpool right wing-back Luca Stephenson on loan. (The Courier)
Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.
Image source, SNSDundee United's Scottish Premiership home game with Rangers next month has been rescheduled for TV coverage.
Originally set for Saturday, 14 September at 15:00 BST, the Tannadice contest will now take place the following day at 12:00 and be shown live on Sky Sports.
Image source, SNSTony Watt has re-joined fellow Scottish Premiership side Motherwell on a season-long loan.
The striker, who made the move to Tannadice from Fir Park in 2022, has scored 19 goals in 86 appearances for Dundee United and was vice-captain in last season's Championship-winning side.
The 30-year-old made 70 appearances for the Steelmen during his first spell and scored 19 goal then, too.
Paul McNicoll
Fan writer
We’re now two games into the league campaign and the positive is that we are undefeated.
Another positive is that the team have managed to take the lead, in both games, three times already. That’s good going.
Yet another positive is that the signings made by Jim Goodwin this summer all appear to be, at least from the early showings, very good and upgrades on the players that were previously in the team.
Now for the negatives. Three times in these two games we have given up the lead. At times in both games we have looked wide open and outnumbered in the middle of the park and, ultimately, we have only taken two points from the games.
It is the proverbial mixed bag so far. From the games that United have played against Dundee and Ross County, I can point to many passages of play where there is plenty reason to be optimistic about what this season may bring. Some of the play has been open, attacking and exciting with numerous good chances created. Dare I say it, at times it has been really good to watch.
The flip side to that however is when we are not experiencing the open, attacking and exciting football, we still seem to be a team capable of being completely overrun in the middle of the park.
The first 45 minutes up in Dingwall being a perfect example of that.
For the first 12 seconds of that match United were sensational. We easily broke through on the County goal, rounded the keeper and laid the ball off perfectly for a simple tap in. In the 13th-second of the match, though, Miller Thomson managed to kick the ball over the Jail End stand, and half way back to Inverness, from four yards out.
From there on in, it was one way traffic, and that traffic was all towards United’s goal.
To say that United rode their luck in the first 45 minutes would certainly be accurate and we had a Jack Walton penalty save to thank for going in at half-time on level terms. Goodwin would make some changes to the team’s shape at the break, and it was then a far better display from the men in white and tangerine in the second half. Ultimately though, a poor decision/defending five minutes into injury time has massively cost the team as two points slipped through their grasp for the second week on the bounce.
To sum it all up, it is very, very early in the season, but there likely won’t be too many dull moments following United this season. They’ll hopefully catch fire at times and at other times we might struggle, but there is a spark about this team, and we all know that you can’t start a fire without a spark.
Paul McNicoll can be found at the Dode Fox Podcast, external
Dundee United's Miller Thomson with big miss straight from kick-off at Ross County
Watch Miller Thomson miss a big chance for Dundee United almost straight from the kick-off against Ross County. The match would finish 1-1.
Available to UK users only. There is no commentary on this video.
Watch highlights as Ross County draw with Dundee United in the Premiership.
Listen to the full episode here.
Jim Goodwin reacts to a dramatic late equaliser at Ross County.
Image source, SNSDundee United manager Jim Goodwin told BBC Scotland: "Real disappointment in the way we concede the equal. There was a number of poor decisions in that particular sequence of play.
"Did we deserve to win the game over the piece? Probably not, given how poor we were in the first 45 minutes. You've got to see the game and out and had we done that, it would've been a brilliant three points.
"We know how difficult it is up here. Ross County had only lost one of their last 11 games here. The response after half-time is a positive but it'll take time to get over the way the game finished.
"The only way was up at half-time as far as we're concerned. We were so bad in the first half, a shadow of the team we were against Dundee in the first half last week. It's hard to put your finger on why that happens."
"We were very lucky to go in at half-time at 0-0 and that was the message to the players. What Ross County did to us in the first 45 minutes, we did to them in the second."
Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland
The first half would have worried Jim Goodwin, but the second-half reaction was far improved even if it ended in a draw.
Before the break, they only looked threatening on the counter but really, Kristijan Trapanovski was the only outball capable of creating anything dangerous.
After half-time, Babunski's goal buoyed them and the entire team got higher up the pitch, which was partly down to winning the midfield battle.
The Macedonian duo have bedded in well, with Babunski again wearing the armband. Wing-backs Ferry and Vicko Sevelj look like solid additions, but more time is needed for Van der Sande, who has been preferred to Moult so far.
What did you make of that, United fans? A worthy draw, or did you deserve even more?
Who impressed you, and what do you make of Jim Goodwin's summer recruits?
