Ten man United undone at Fir Park

Fresh from Saturday’s victory at Rugby Park, United travelled to Motherwell looking to secure another positive result. However, the task became significantly tougher when Emmanuel Agyei was shown a straight red card after just 13 minutes.

Unchanged from the side that started on Saturday, while hosts Motherwell introduced Seb Palmer-Houlden and Jardell Kanga to their starting XI. Both sides also had new arrivals among the substitutes, with former United midfielder Dylan Levitt named on the Motherwell bench and Lyall Cameron included for the Terrors following his loan move from Rangers.

The match began in the rain with Motherwell looking to impose themselves from the off.
Two chances arrived in the second minute, with Jack Walton forced into an early save
down to his left before another effort moments later struck the woodwork.

United looked to find their own way into the contest, with a couple of half-chances
beginning to materialise. Daniel Bennie whipped a cross in from the left which,
following a Motherwell touch, was eventually shepherded out of play. Zac Sapsford was then played in behind, only for Motherwell goalkeeper Alex Paulsen to react quickly and race from his line to clear outside the box.

United felt they had a strong claim for a penalty in the ninth minute when Merghem made his way into the area before going down under a challenge, but referee Calum Scott was
quick to wave away the appeals. Motherwell went up the other end and forced Walton into another stop as an effort from the right-hand side of the box came towards his near post.

Shortly after the 10-minute mark,United found themselves with a throw-in while Paulsen was well outside his goal. Sapsford took it quickly, but the opportunity eventually came to nothing as Will Ferry's cross from the left sailed beyond everyone in the area.

The defining moment arrived in the 13th minute when Agyei was shown a straight red
card for a challenge on the right wing inside the United half. Referee Calum Scott
deemed the challenge worthy of dismissal and, following a VAR check, the decision
was confirmed, leaving the Terrors to play more than 75 minutes with ten men.

The hosts immediately set about making their numerical advantage count. Bert Esselink
did well to intercept a low cross near the penalty spot from the Motherwell right before
the hosts again forced Walton into an excellent stop, the United goalkeeper getting
down to his right to repel an effort from inside the box.

Eventually, the pressure told and Motherwell found the opener in the 19th minute. The
ball fell to Seb Palmer-Houlden on the edge of the area, and he fired an effort off the
inside of the right-hand post and into the United net to give the hosts the lead.

Shortly after the goal, United made their first change as Abdoulaye Yoro made way for
Dylan Tait in midfield, with Lee Sharp looking to add greater stability following the dismissal.
United were naturally forced to sit deeper and absorb more pressure from the hosts. 

Walton produced another excellent stop after 24 minutes as an effort from the left centre of the box headed towards the top-right corner, forcing the United stopper into a full-length save.

The Terrors looked to relieve the pressure on their back line whenever possible, with
Tait using his body well to win a free-kick on the left-hand side of the Motherwell half,
although nothing came from the resulting opportunity.

Despite being reduced to ten men, United continued to offer a threat on the counter.
Bennie drove down the left and fired a low cross into the area which was eventually
cleared away for a throw-in. Minutes later, Merghem skipped beyond his man out wide
before crossing into the box and forcing a Motherwell defender to head clear.

The Terrors had a promising opportunity to equalise shortly before the whistle when Sapsford found space on the edge of the area and skipped beyond his man, but
he was unable to get a shot away.

It meant United headed into the break trailing by just one goal despite playing the
majority of the opening half with ten men.

HT – Motherwell 1–0 Dundee United

United made another change at the interval, with Merghem making way for Jesse
Randall.

The hosts continued to force the Terrors back and struck the woodwork again shortly
before the 50th minute. United showed, however, that they were still looking for a route
back into the contest, with Sapsford chasing down a long ball and battling with his
marker to win a corner.

In the 55th minute, Panutche Camara did well to win possession in midfield before
driving towards the Motherwell box and slipping a pass to Randall. The New Zealander
saw his effort deflected behind for a corner, from which the recycled ball eventually
found Camara, although his shot went over the bar.

United made further changes as Bennie and Sapsford were replaced by Neil Farrugia
and Lachlan Rose, before Ferry made way for Kevin Ciubotaru in the 64th minute.

Motherwell strengthened their grip on the contest during a decisive two-minute spell in
which they doubled and then tripled their advantage.

In the 65th minute, Alex Lowry fired an effort from the edge of the area into the top-left
corner before, two minutes later, former United midfielder Dylan Levitt squeezed an
effort into the bottom-left corner to make it three.

Despite falling further behind, United never allowed their efforts to dip. Randall was
played down the left by Tait and delivered a cross which was punched away by Paulsen.

The ball eventually found Esselink, who clipped another pass towards Randall, allowing
the winger to fire a low delivery back into the area, but there were no United takers and
Motherwell cleared.

United's best opportunity arrived with 15 minutes remaining as Rose led a breakaway
into the Motherwell third before slipping in Ciubotaru as the full-back continued his run
forward.

The Romanian beat Paulsen with his strike but was denied by the far post, although the
assistant referee's flag was raised shortly afterwards, meaning the chance may not
have counted regardless.

With just under ten minutes remaining, United had another opportunity to get
themselves on the scoresheet. Camara worked well to shield possession on the right-
hand side before finding Tait inside him on the centre-right of the box. The midfielder
fired across the face of goal, but his effort went wide with nobody able to turn it home.

The final throes of the match saw United continue to make forays forward, although
they were unable to create another clear-cut opportunity as the hosts defended their
area well to see out the contest.

When the full-time whistle sounded, the Terrors were left empty-handed at Fir Park.
Despite playing more than 75 minutes with ten men, United continued to battle until the
end, ultimately undone by some excellent finishing from the hosts.

FT – Motherwell 3 – 0 Dundee United

Motherwell 3 (Palmer-Houlden 19’, Lowry 65’, Levitt 67’)

Dundee United 0 

7.45pm Wednesday 2 September 2026

Fir Park

William Hill Premiership

Attendance: 6,412

Teamlines

MOTHERWELL

Starting XI: Paulsen, Knight-Lebel, Moorman, Sparrow (c), Fadinger, Lowry, Kanga, Maswanhise, Longelo, Palmer-Holden, Hodge
 
Subs: Connolly, O’Donnell, Girdwood-Reich, Bjorgolfsson, Charles-Cook, Said, Williams, Levitt, Vogt

DUNDEE UNITED

Starting XI: Walton, Esselink, Merghem, Camara, Sapsford, Ferry, Agyei, Rose, Forbes (c), Rawlins, Yoro, Bennie
 
Subs: Amissah, Iovu, Tait, Rose, Cameron, Ciubotaro, Farrugia, Randall, Naamo

Report: Brian Stewart

Images: Richard Wiseman

Next Up

Falkirk are the next visitors at the CalForth Construction Arena on Saturday afternoon, kick-off is at 3pm.

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