First Team
ALL THE INFO | PARTICK THISTLE (H)
1st May 2024
ST MIRREN 3
DUNDEE UNITED 2
CAS UNDER-18S ELITE LEAGUE
19:00 FRIDAY 24TH FEBRUARY
RALSTON TRAINING COMPLEX
The Young Terrors headed west for Paisley as they went in search of consecutive wins in the CAS Under-18s Elite League for the first time this season.
In September, the sides played out an enthralling match at Ralston, with Conor May netting a late winner to complete the comeback from 3-2 down – with United running out 4-3 victors.
Despite missing a few regulars, there was still room in the XI for familiar faces Bryan Mwangi, Keir Bertie, Arron Donald, Alan Domeracki and Greg Petrie. Adam Carnwath operated off the left, whilst Lewis Haldane was given the nod between the sticks.
Early Setback
With just three minutes on the clock, an unforced error gave Saints the opportunity to break the deadlock from the spot. Petrie attempted to launch the ball clear but took a complete fresh-air swipe at it, allowing Elliot Dunlop to nip in and pickpocketed the towering United defender. In his attempts to win back possession, Petrie bundled his opponent over, conceding a penalty in the process.
Dunlop made no mistake from 12 yards, sending youthful stopper Haldane the wrong way with confidence.
Diminutive livewire Dunlop was influential throughout the entirety of the first half, and linked well with his opposite winger, Ethan Sutherland, to carve out multiple opportunities by switching play from side to side.
Twice in quick succession, the two combined to threaten the United goal. First, Sutherland’s raking crossfield pass was controlled nicely by the Buddies’ number seven, who sharply shifted onto his left foot and forced Haldane into action from range, then Dunlop met his colleague’s looping cross to the back stick and somehow failed to find a way past the keeper from point-blank range.
Beating The Trap
At the other end, despite not fashioning clear-cut sightings of goal, the Young Terrors managed to rampage in behind the high St Mirren line on multiple occasions by playing direct yet thoughtful football concentrated down the left.
An outrageous, half-volleyed pass from Carnwath split the defence in two and found Mwangi on the burst from midfield, but the 17-year-old’s vicious effort was too close to the hosts stopper, Evan Anderson.
Saints responded with a period of sustained pressure which culminated in Evan Mooney’s snapshot towards the near post being smartly tipped around the upright for a corner.
Mooney was thwarted once more, this time by a fabulous sliding challenge from Donald after the number nine had wriggled his way into the area.
After a lull period the match, the home side doubled their advantage just on the half-time whistle. Sutherland’s hanging delivery found Daniel Delvin making up ground from midfield who, at the second bite of the cherry, blasted the ball into the back of the net on the half-volley from 16 yards.
Instant Impact
The introduction of top scorer Stuart Heenan at the interval brought the forward-thinking and injection of pace the visitors desired. The frontman played off the left and posed opposite number Owen Carey no end of problems.
Just five minutes after climbing from the bench, Heenan halved the defecit. With Mwangi making an overlapping run to his left, the 17-year-old used his teammate as a decoy, and executed a sharp shift onto his right foot before burying a fabulous strike into the bottom corner from range.
However, the tangerine hope appeared to be evaporated a mere two minutes after dragging themselves back into the contest. A calamitous passage of play saw a defensive mix-up at the back for United, with opportunistic midfielder Ryan Porter eventually capitalising on a miscued clearance from Haldane. He fed namesake Nathan on the left of the area who drilled a low finish into the far corner, with help from a slight deflection off Donald.
A similar goalkeeping blunder in the other penalty area offered United a lifeline, with Carnwath intercepting a lacksadaisical pass from ‘keeper Anderson inside the 18-yard box. His ball across the area took a deflection and a United trialist kept his cool to find a way past both a recovering Anderson and Callum Logue on the goal-line.
Questionable Decisions
The visitors appeared be denied a stonewall penalty after an almost identical incident, this time Heenan getting in the way of a risky Anderson clearance before being clumsily bowled to the turf by goalscorer Delvin – the officials waiving away tangible claims for a spot-kick which would have given the Young Terrors the opportunity to level the arrears from 12 yards.
In the closing stages, yet another decision went against United. Heenan raced down the left to collect a searching, trademark Donald ball into the channel, then saw his cross-cum-shot take a deflection off Carey and nestle into the corner. The tangerine celebrations were immediately cut short though, as the near-side assistant adjudged the ball had curved out of play before being collected by the United man.
