Dundee United 1 Partick Thistle 0

United progressed to the next round of the William Hill Scottish Cup thanks to a sublime goal with five minutes remaining from sub Scott Fraser. It was largely a scrappy encounter which looked to be heading for a replay but having created the most clear cut chances it was a victory which was just about merited on the day. By Ally Stewart Despite a bright opening which saw the hosts create more of the chances including a John Rankin shot from close range which was blocked for a corner, the game became more and more scrappy as the half wore on. Thistle troubled the Tangerines most when they attacked on the counter, with a Sean Welsh strike saved by Eiji Kawashima in the 9th minute and the same man missing a low Callum Booth cross by inches being the closest they came to scoring. The final chance of the opening period fell to United when Billy Mckay and Simon Murray combined well before the latter forced a decent save from Tomas Cerny. The game struggled to come to life again following the break with an early surge into the box from Mckay and a blocked Murray snap shot the best the Tangerines could muster. In the 67th minute Rankin broke into the left side of the box and drilled a teasing cross in front of goal which Murray came within a fraction of connecting with in the six yard box. As the game entered the closing stages Scott Fraser was sent on for Dow as the manager looked to inject some late urgency and immediately after Blair Spittal came close when he took a pass from Guy Demel and saw his left foot shot deflected wide of Cerny’s post. With just seven minutes to go David Amoo latched onto a short headed back pass from Coll Donaldson but the ball ran beyond Kawashima and safely out for a goal kick. A couple of minutes later the deadlock was finally broken and much to the relief of the majority in the crowd it was a goal by the hosts. After retaining good possession deep in the Partick half Spittal played a clever pass inside the box which put Fraser in the clear and he turned onto his left foot before sublimely finishing low onto the bottom right corner. Murray was just beaten to another through ball shortly after by Cerny as they tried to seal the win however the players made a sterling job of running down the four minutes of added time to secure a place in the next round. Full Time Summary – It wasn’t the prettiest game of football to watch but in cup competitions it’s all about making it through to the next round. Just as they did previously at Airdrie, a piece of quality late on was the difference and in the end, based on the chances created, it was a worthy win. United – Kawashima, Dillon, Paton, Mckay (Durnan 89), Rankin, Dow (Fraser 74), Murray, Gunning, Spittal, Donaldson, Demel (Dixon 77). Subs not used – Zwick, Dixon, Knoyle, Anier, Sinama-Pongolle. Partick – Cerny, Miller, Seaborne, Welsh (Fraser 64), Booth, Osman, Bannigan, Doolan (Pogba 64), Lawless (Amoo 81), Frans, Lindsay. Subs not used – Scully, Elliott, Nesbitt, Edwards. Referee – William Collum