St Mirren 0 Dundee United 1: A handmade gift

Richard Wilson

Sports writer

Sunday 28 October 2012

The general mood at this game was of consternation and even the breakthrough, when it came, was down to a misjudgment.

United's Johnny Russell, centre, celebrates his penalty conversion with Keith Watson and Rudi Skacel Photograph: SNS

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Richard Wilson

Even St Mirren's Steven Thompson himself did not understand why he reached out to punch the ball inside his own penalty area, but the moment of indiscretion at least allowed this encounter to deliver more than a sense of frustration.

Neither side had, until that incident midway through the second half, looked remotely capable of scoring. United could savour the result, but both managers must have been dismayed by the cutting edge that was missing from their teams.Danny Lennon admitted afterwards that St Mirren's best chances fell to Jim Goodwin, when the defensive midfielder latched on to clearances at the edge of the penalty area. "The end product wasn't there," Lennon said.Indignation was a motivation for both sides. Their recent results have been galling. St Mirren lost 5-1 on their last outing, against Celtic, while Dundee United began the day second bottom of the SPL. This was an opportunity to atone, but only small progress was made."I'd rather take three points by grinding out a win than play well and take a point," said United manager Peter Houston. "Having not won in six games, it was important that we won this one, even if we can talk about winning ugly. Hopefully this will kick-start our season."United could also take solace from the arrival of Rudi Skacel, who joined them this week. The Czech tends to be a prominent figure, and the scrutiny cannot feel like a nuisance to a player who deliberately chose the shirt number 51 in tribute to Hearts' 5-1 victory over Hibernian in last season's Scottish Cup final."Call me naive, but I never thought anything about the number he chose," Houston said. "I apologise to Hibs, a club I respect a lot. If I'd known, I wouldn't have let him choose that number. It's not my style to be a wind-up merchant."For spells, United kept the ball with poise, but the performance as a whole was still disconcerting. The possession was welcome, yet there was no headway made in creating opportunities for Johnny Russell, who was playing up front on his own. Jon Daly, normally such a reliable focus to United's attack, was filling in at centre-back with typical shrewdness and endeavour.The home side were initially tentative, but they took heart from United's failure to be decisive. The only scare, after all, had been a Mark Millar shot from distance that Craig Samson saved, albeit somewhat untidily.Carelessness was a feature for both sides when they were playing the final ball. It was not surprising, for instance, to see Dougie Imrie slice a cross out of play from a good position in the closing moments of the first half. St Mirren had come marginally closer to scoring, since Lee Mair's head flick from a corner sent the ball just wide, while Goodwin's firm half-volley from 30 yards was also off target. These were rare instances, though, because the two sides were so dogged rather than inspiring.Aplomb could not be immediately achieved, and the tendency was for the game to be laboured. The untidy nature of the play at times made matters interesting and Gavin Gunning almost scored with a header after St Mirren failed to deal with a Willo Flood free-kick.A similar indecisiveness in the United penalty area allowed Lewis Guy to spin and shoot, but he failed to connect properly with his effort.There was, at least, greater urgency to St Mirren's approach, but the anxiety to make an impact could also be a costly impulse.With 69 minutes on the clock, Thompson reacted to a United corner kick by instinctively punching the ball away, and referee Euan Norris immediately pointed to the penalty spot. The away fans chanted the name of Skacel, who had just come to the field, but it was Russell who converted the spot-kick.The visitors immediately sought to protect their lead, and there were a number of blocks and clearances inside United's penalty area. Mostly, though, St Mirren failed to turn their possession into meaningful chances.Rashness was widespread, and the closest they came was when Goodwin leapt up to hit a left-foot volley that Radioslaw Cierzniak saved ably.A handmade gift

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St Mirren 0 Dundee United 1: A handmade gift

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