THE quarter-finals of the Scottish Communities League Cup became a place of refuge for Dundee United last night.
A 1-0 win over second division Queen of the South will come to appear routine, but they endured a fraught finale as this cup tie wore on – Johnny Russell's first-half goal only seeming decisive when the final whistle pierced an atmosphere which had become increasingly uncomfortable for the Tannadice side.
United were unlikely to have arrived at Palmerston expecting a warm reception and a quiet stroll around the ground, mind you. The stormy conditions that battered much of the country will have made their journey down to Dumfries a little uneasy and they were made to weather a belatedly tempestuous Queens side last night.
The hosts had already tripped up the cup ambitions of Hibernian in the last round as well as Rangers in the Ramsdens Cup, and United will have felt bruised on their way into the next round of this competition.
The early exchanges had lacked conviction, though. United jabbed and weaved while Queens sought to breach the visitors with thumping haymakers. Indeed, the home support found greater mirth from the kicking of Radoslaw Cierzniak, the United goalkeeper showing an unfortunate habit for shelling his side's technical area.
It was not the sort of confident play that might be expected of a side who have gone 11 matches unbeaten, more typical of a team wary of how they measure up to their opponents. Queens' march to the top of the second division has been carried out with a swagger, but at times last night they were betrayed by their smaller stature. The challenge will now be to respond to their first defeat. "Everyone's gutted in there and that shows the standards they've set, to be gutted not to beat a Premier League team," said Allan Johnston, the Queens manager.
There was something meek about United's goal; Michael Gardyne jogging into space on the left side of the area after 36 minutes, the United forward sending a low pass across goal which was deliberately ignored by Jon Daly only to be converted by Russell at the second attempt. There was suspicion of handball as Gardyne advanced and Lee Robinson blocked Russell's initial shot, but there was something predictable about where the ball ended up.
It had taken just six minutes for the Scotland under-21 internationalist to stare down the Queens goalkeeper, Richie Ryan inviting a run into the penalty area with a neat pass only for Mark Durnan to snuff out the chance. Brian McLean also saw fit to have a shot at goal but Robinson gratefully received his weak effort.
And yet such a lack of conviction was forgivable as they had greater command of possession. Ryan was astute on the ball and Willo Flood a willing foil, while Daly offered a presence up front if one diminished by a lack of recent action due to a knee injury.
That left Queens grasping at opportunities; Willie Gibson's low cross after 14 minutes was interrupted by Gavin Gunning as Reilly raced in on goal, while Nicky Clark's header was tipped over the crossbar by Cierzniak on the cusp of half-time.
They were more gallant after the break but no more successful as Gibson's cross ended up on the roof of the net and Reilly spun in the penalty area but was unable to shoot, both failing to discomfit Cierzniak unduly. His United team mates were a little less at ease and seemed more encumbered with doubt in the face of growing impertinence. United have gone four league matches without a win – failing to score in the last three – and they were not allowed to feel settled in a position of strength.
They were nearly undone after 70 minutes when substitute Paul Burns, back at the club where he had taken his first steps in senior football, scampered towards the United penalty area, drawing the attention of Gunning before releasing Clark, whose driven shot could only be parried by Cierzniak. The striker was offered a second shot at it four minutes later, but he failed to get enough on his flicked effort and United cleared.
Queens had begun to steer the tie but they were not able to find a route into the quarter-finals. Clark planted a shot wide in the final 10 minutes and Carmichael had a tame volley turned away, but United held their grip of their place in the last eight.
"You'd have thought that if there was going to be a shock, then it was going to be at Palmerston. We're pleased to go through," said Peter Houston, United's manager.
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