KIDS can be so cruel sometimes.
It happened with some regularity at Tannadice yesterday, where Partick Thistle were defeated by the teasing attacks of Dundee United's young talents - goals from Gary Mackay-Steven, Andrew Robertson securing comfortable win. Any name-calling would have been directed at one of the local kids, tormentor-in-chief Ryan Gauld, but when he hobbled off in stoppage-time, it was the result of being picked on for being different from the rest.
The United forward became gripping viewing within the opening 90 seconds, when he slipped a clever pass to Mackay-Steven, unmarked on the edge of the penalty area. The winger picked his spot and then found it with a low strike. Gauld, a 17-year-old, is a remarkable player and did not so much grasp Thistle yesterday as put them in a choke hold.
His set-up play offered a moment of arresting invention, but was patented by a United front four which is capable of drawing admiration and even the odd foul. It has been easy to become captivated by the sharp movement and delicate passing of Gauld, Mackay-Steven, Stuart Armstrong and Nadir Ciftci this season and Thistle would be proof of that, standing off the home side too readily as their role in the match was dictated to them. "We were lucky to get in at half-time one down," said Thistle manager Alan Archibald.
The ease with which Thistle were pulled apart would be engrossing then, although United had started the game just sixth in the league table. It is a position which at first seemed below the standard of their play but which was also reflective of their occasional lapses; Ciftci is still prone to acts of petulance - flailing his arms whenever he was caught offside - an errant flicked header from John Souttar allowing Thistle striker Kris Doolan in late in the first half and United deferred the eventual arrival of a second goal with a series of casual misses.
The closest came when Mackay-Steven lifted a shot over the head of Scott Fox after 25 minutes, only for Aaron Muirhead to clear off the line and cause a corner of the Thistle net to come down. As both sides knocked a few balls about during the delay, it could cruelly have been described as Thistle's best spell of the half.
There would be further respite 10 minutes after the break when Souttar was adjudged to have blocked Ross Forbes' cross with his arm and Muirhead converted from the penalty spot. That would allow Thistle to get their heads up but they were still unable to see past United - Robertson strode forward to rifle a low shot past Fox after 69 minutes, Mackay-Steven rolled in his second and United's third just seven minutes later and Graham thumped in a fourth late on after Gauld, who assisted all of his side's previous three goals, slipped another pass behind the Thistle defence.
The diminutive attacker had been a persistent pain but the Firhill side would also suffer self-harm. They were only behind by a goal when Conrad Balatoni was given a second booking for a trip on Mackay-Steven and Stuart Bannigan was shown a straight red card in the final moments for another heavy challenge on the United winger. "I don't think there was any consistency there, there were a number of tackles like [Bannigan's] throughout the game," said Archibald.
United would also see out the game a man down after Gauld limped off injured following a stern tackle from Aaron Taylor-Sinclair. "He took a bang, so hopefully it is not too serious," said United manager Jackie McNamara. "We all hope that he will be OK."
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