St Mirren 0 Dundee United 1

Richard Wilson

Sports writer

Monday 29 October 2012

Peter Houston had to qualify the satisfaction he took from this encounter.

Dundee United's Johnny Russell celebrates after scoring the only goal of the game. Picture: SNS

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Richard Wilson

A victory, however it is earned, is vital when it ends a run of six games without a win, but this was not a sudden resolution to all of Dundee United's concerns. It must have exasperated the United manager, for instance, that his best player was Jon Daly, playing at centre-back rather than up front.

The redeployment of Daly was a matter of necessity, since Houston believed his team needed the player's physical presence, strength in the air and general authority at the back. Yet it left Johnny Russell isolated up front and much of United's play faltered as they attempted to move the ball into the final third. Russell is a clever and quick player, but his efforts were in vain, since no team-mate was ever close enough to provide meaningful assistance.United were capable of sharp passing interchanges, and moved the ball around deftly during much of the first half, but they only managed to trouble St Mirren at set pieces. Houston won't quibble, since Gavin Gunning hit the bar with a header before another corner kick led to Stephen Thompson inexpli-cably punching the ball, with Russell converting the penalty. However, there was no escaping the conundrum he now faces, since Daly last season provided 22 goals for the team.Houston remarked afterwards on the player's selflessness, telling a story about moving him to centre-back for the final game of last season. Daly was chasing the top scorer's prize in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at the time, but did not complain about being shifted. He even managed to score against Motherwell, although Gary Hooper took the honour with a five-goal haul against Hearts in Celtic's final game of the season. Daly's versatility and uncomplaining approach are a boon for United but the advantage can also be confounding, since the manager has to decide when best to use him in attack or defence, and runs the risk of antagonising other candidates for the roles."Credit to Jon, he is the type who doesn't question it," says Sean Dillon, who partnered Daly at the back against St Mirren. "He just says: 'Right, you need me to do that for you? No problem.' Gavin [Gunning] has been moved out to left-back and it is tough on the likes of Brian McLean because he has been left out for a centre-forward. There is a lot to be looked at. However, we are all in it together. "[Jon Daly] is easy to play with. He is not afraid to listen to what you have to say and he won't be slow to voice an opinion, as well. We all have experience in the game and he has played there a few times now. We have done work on it in training, as well, and that has helped. How long this lasts, I don't know."It is up to the manager and you just have to get on with it. You can understand the frustration because [Daly] wants to be scoring goals and that is what he is best at. Obviously, Johnny [Russell] would want as much help as he can pos-sibly get, too."The victory was timely for United, since their listless form was becoming established. Even performing well against Aberdeen the previous weekend was not enough to earn more than a draw. United were less impressive against St Mirren, but the good fortune of the penalty might be enough to kickstart their campaign.Frustration was widespread, since St Mirren were also hamstrung by their inability to create chances. Composure was immediately discarded whenever a player entered the final third of the field, and Lewis Guy was typical in snatching at the one chance that fell his way, tamely hitting the ball into Radoslaw Cierzniak's grasp."I was a little bit off-balance, but you are expected to score goals as a striker and I didn't take it when I should have," he admitted. "As a striker, that is what you are judged on. You can work hard and stuff, but it's all about goals and you are not a happy person if you are not scoring. We have to try to take advantage of home games and we have now failed to score in our last two here."That is when people start looking to the strikers and we have to get on the training ground and work on it. Maybe we just need to work on crossing and finishing a bit more, and I am sure we will."

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St Mirren 0 Dundee United 1

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