First Team
TEAM NEWS | PARTICK THISTLE (H)
3rd May 2024
At Station Park Forfar tonight, Dundee United took on league leaders Celtic and inflicted the first defeat of the current season on the Glasgow side's Under-21s, who had gone twenty games without loss.
It took the game a little while to come to life and it was fully fifteen minutes before either side mounted a serious goal threat when Grant fired over the top for Celtic. Ross Gardiner blocked a Smith shot and then mid way through the half Craig Easton hit a cracking drive into the top left hand corner to give United the lead. Both sides had a couple of other chances but it was United who went in ahead. Celtic were reduced to ten men just before the whistle when McManus picked up a second yellow card.
For the first fifteen minutes of the second period it was hard to tell that Celtic had the disadvantage of being a man short and with only ten minutes of the half gone, McGeady scored from almost the same spot as Easton had in the first half. Jason Scotland skimmed the bar with a fierce drive and Collin Samuel had a good effort blocked before McGeady missed another chance mid way through the second period but United had much more of the play and deservedly took the lead when Easton struck a Scotland cut back into the net with ten minutes left. There were opportunities to go further ahead and Samuel and Scotland both came close.
After the match Owen Coyle was of course delighted with the result and he said, "Tony Docherty and I were very pleased with the attitude of the players. They turned in a great performance tonight and there was a lot to admire in the way they played and the win was gained with a great team effort. It was thoroughly deserved and the players will draw a lot of confidence from the result."
JARVIE, ABBOT, J PATERSON, INNES, GARDINER, BELL, C EASTON, HOLMES, SAMUEL, SCOTLAND, CONWAY (CALLAGHAN)
SUBS NOT USED ; MCCANN, W EASTON, SMITH, KENNETH.
It took the game a little while to come to life and it was fully fifteen minutes before either side mounted a serious goal threat when Grant fired over the top for Celtic. Ross Gardiner blocked a Smith shot and then mid way through the half Craig Easton hit a cracking drive into the top left hand corner to give United the lead. Both sides had a couple of other chances but it was United who went in ahead. Celtic were reduced to ten men just before the whistle when McManus picked up a second yellow card.
For the first fifteen minutes of the second period it was hard to tell that Celtic had the disadvantage of being a man short and with only ten minutes of the half gone, McGeady scored from almost the same spot as Easton had in the first half. Jason Scotland skimmed the bar with a fierce drive and Collin Samuel had a good effort blocked before McGeady missed another chance mid way through the second period but United had much more of the play and deservedly took the lead when Easton struck a Scotland cut back into the net with ten minutes left. There were opportunities to go further ahead and Samuel and Scotland both came close.
After the match Owen Coyle was of course delighted with the result and he said, "Tony Docherty and I were very pleased with the attitude of the players. They turned in a great performance tonight and there was a lot to admire in the way they played and the win was gained with a great team effort. It was thoroughly deserved and the players will draw a lot of confidence from the result."
JARVIE, ABBOT, J PATERSON, INNES, GARDINER, BELL, C EASTON, HOLMES, SAMUEL, SCOTLAND, CONWAY (CALLAGHAN)
SUBS NOT USED ; MCCANN, W EASTON, SMITH, KENNETH.
