United’s lack of consistency is a concern

DUNDEE United’s lack of consistency is on show yet again this season.

Recent results show six draws, two defeats and one solitary win in the last 10 games. There have been too many poor showings of late, too many bad days at the office, beginning with a painful watch at Tannadice where Falkirk ran out 3-0 winners after a calamity of errors from United goalkeeper Yevhen Kucherenko.

There is no easy way of saying it except the Ukrainian stopper had a nightmare, which included his third own goal of the season. ‘Kuch’ has since been replaced by veteran Dave Richards, who took to the field in an uneventful game at Kilmarnock, where he initially saved a penalty only to be thwarted by the rebound, which saw the home side take the lead.

Craig Sibbald drew United level just after the hour mark but apart from that there was really nothing to report in what was a scrappy and tedious affair to say the least. Still to take some sort of positive, it was a point on the road and set United up for their second game in a few days when Rangers came to Tannadice midweek.

This encounter ended in VAR controversy in what was to be a truly gutting night for the Arabs who had to watch a dubious Rangers penalty converted in the 98th minute to give the away side a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

United had taken a first-half lead through a superb solo effort from Zac Sapsford, where he outstripped the full-back running from inside his own half, before neatly lobbing the ball over the advancing Jack Butland and into the net at the shed end. Rangers then came back with a rocket from Jayden Meghoma making it even at the break. United’s young Swede, Amar Fatah, again upped the ante with a brilliant curling effort sending Tannadice into a frenzy (above) and it looked like United would claim all three points in what has been a long wait to claim a win over the Ibrox side.

Arguably, United should have had a chance to make it a two-goal cushion from the penalty spot when, for the second time in three weeks, a ball struck the Rangers player Emmanuel Fernandez’s arm in the penalty box from a long throw-in from United full back Will Ferry. No penalty was awarded, however, and there was no VAR intervention either much to the bewilderment of the home crowd. Rangers had the lion’s share of shots and possession of that there can be no doubt, but again a contentious decision with what proved to be the last kick of the game felt like a defeat for those in Tangerine.

United moved on to St Mirren after this and simply didn’t show up, bar a couple of efforts that hit the woodwork. The worrying statistic is that Jim Goodwin’s side conceded first for the tenth time this season when St Mirren’s Conor McMenamin nodded home just after a quarter of an hour. United set up defensively, but the system simply didn’t work and St Mirren went on to take full advantage netting a second later on to seal all three points.

United will need to up their game and find some consistency sooner rather than later if they do not want to get dragged into a relegation scrap at the foot of the table.

December is going to be a vital month for the Tangerines with Celtic, Hibs, Aberdeen and Livingston all to play before we see in the New Year with a city derby at Tannadice.

Goodwin has stated that his side will be active come the January window, which perhaps suggests that the recruitment policy hasn’t yielded as much success as Arabs would have hoped for and the decent showing in Europe was a false flag.

There have been little shoots of progress from the likes of Sapsford, Luca Stephenson, Pan Camara and Fatah out on the wing, who now seems to be adapting to the Scottish game. Croatian pair Ivan Dolček and last season’s Player of the Year, Vicko Ševelj, are now finding themselves with less and less minutes on the clock, as are others who have failed to make any major impact in the first team.

Just how long the Tannadice faithful will accept this current state of affairs is debatable, but with just three wins under their belt to date, I’d say not for much longer and with the knives being sharpened, Goodwin’s jacket could be a on a shoogly peg again. It’s fair to say the recent scoreless draw with Motherwell at home will do little to silence the critics.