MATCH REPORT | ACTION-PACKED RESERVE DERBY ENDS HONOURS EVEN

DUNDEE 2 (5) (Sylla '79, Richardson '83)

DUNDEE UNITED 2 (3) (MacLeod '8, Thomson 90')

2PM TUESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2023

NORTH END PARK

CINCH RESERVE LEAGUE CUP

Dundee United B contested their first competitive match of the 2023/24 campaign, taking on city rivals Dundee in the cinch Reserve League Cup.
 
The Terrors made it all the way to the Semi-Final of the competition last term, eventually succumbing to a Kilmarnock side populated with experienced players.

And it was to be a similar challenge United faced at North End Park as the hosts selected first-team regulars Lee Ashcroft, Mohamad Sylla and Diego Pineda in their line-up.

Team Talk 

Coaching duo Brian Grant and Andy Payne named a starting XI featuring ten Academy graduates to contest the derby– the outlier being Cardiff City loanee Ollie Denham.

 
U18s regulars Samuel Cleall-Harding and Greg Petrie joined the Welshman in a three-man backline. Tannadice new boy Charlie Dewar and on-loan Kelty Hearts man Lewis O’Donnell held down the middle of the park, flanked by Miller Thomson and Flynn Duffy in the wingback roles.
 
Rory MacLeod spearheaded the attack with support from Bryan Mwangi and Adam Carnwath on either side to complete the 3-4-3 set-up.
 
Four minutes had elapsed when the first shot on target trundled into the gloves of Ruairidh Adams, as Euan Mutale failed to trouble the United stopper with his effort from the top of the D.

MacLeod Magic 

At the other end, Luke Graham clumsily felled Carnwath 25 yards from goal, resulting in a menacing set-piece opportunity for the Terrors. Livewire Rory MacLeod opted to go ‘keeper’s side with his thunderous strike, and the ball fizzed through the despairing dive of Tom Welsh to give United the advantage inside eight minutes.

 
Space began to open in the wider regions as both sides found their route to their respective routes to goal congested in the middle of the pitch.  Despite dominating the opening exchanges, former Hartlepool United man Sylla found his influence wane as Mwangi began to tuck inside and block the passing lane into the towering midfielder.
 
Adams was called into action after a period in dormancy, with Pineda glancing a Marley Sweenie-Rowe cross towards the far corner – a relatively easy take for United’s number one.

Terrorising the Dee

United could’ve doubled their advantage around the half-hour mark when a clever, chested-through pass from MacLeod sent Carnwath racing in behind the Dee’s backline. The 17-year-old chopped back onto his right foot before unleashing a venomous shot that looked destined for the top corner, but the ball cannoned into recovering defender Ashcroft and away to relative safety.

 
Seconds later, the visitors were through on goal once more. Cleall-Harding’s thumping header was misjudged by Graham, allowing MacLeod to bear down one-on-one with the ‘keeper. Uncharacteristically, however, he failed to find a way past Welsh from point-blank range.
 
United could feel slightly aggrieved to have not been awarded a spot-kick on 38 minutes when Duffy found himself cleaned out by Finlay Allan after blazing a cross-cum-shot over Welsh’s crossbar on the angle.
 
The traffic continued to flow towards the Dundee net, this time Dewar meeting an inch-perfect O’Donnell free-kick and sending an unchallenged header wide of the mark.

 
However, the last action of the half forced Cleall-Harding to intervene for United twice in quick succession, thwarting efforts from Mutale and Pineda in the 18-yard box.
 
Nine minutes after the restart, MacLeod was presented with an opportunity to double his tally for the afternoon in an almost identical position from which he opened the scoring. This time, the 17-year-old’s dead-ball effort could only pick out the side netting.
 
More tangible claims for a penalty were waived away by the referee as Marcel Lewis hit the deck under the challenge of Petrie. The loose ball bobbled out to substitute Ewan Murray whose dipping effort from 30 yards had Adams scrambling across his line as it whistled past the upright.

Derby Spirit 

Tempers and tackles began to flare up as the match approached the closing stages, Denham’s late challenge on Ryan Howley lighting the touch paper and producing the first yellow card of the 90. The physically imposing Dee midfielder dusted himself down and rattled the bar with the resulting free-kick with the ‘keeper beaten all ends up.
 
Liam Trotter also brought Howley down within strikable distance mere seconds later, with Adams forced to prevent his second set-piece in as many minutes finding the top left corner.
 
The hosts had United penned in to their own defensive third, and the tangerine dam finally burst with 79 minutes on the clock, albeit a lapse in concentration the cause.
 
Pineda’s delicious corner looped all the way to the back-post for the unmarked Sylla to blast into the back of the net from seven yards.

Dees Complete the Turnaround 

From kick-off, a visibly shaken United conceded a free-kick wide on the right, with Petrie and Allan’s clash leading to a lengthy stoppage. The break in play didn’t dent the Dee’s momentum, and Pineda’s whipped delivery found substitute Jamie Richardson who bundled a scrappy volley through Adams at the near post.

 
United regained their composure however and began to look comfortable with the ball at feet once more. Into stoppage time, a contentious challenge in the Dundee half allowed the Terrors to counter, with Alan Domeracki eventually forcing a corner at the end of a free-flowing move.

Remaining Resilient 

MacLeod’s ball was headed away by Murray, only as far as the electric Thomson and the Montrose loanee unleashed a sumptuous half-volley which zipped into the top corner to rescue a point for Grant and Payne’s men.

 
The Terrors could’ve pinched all three points with 96 minutes down as former Manchester United defender Denham rose highest in the area to send a free header inches over the bar from 12 yards.

Spot-Kick Anguish

Despite keeping his cool to notch the equaliser, Thomson would be the only man from either side to miss his spot-kick in the shootout, with Dundee claiming the bonus point at the culmination of a pulsating derby at North End Park.

Teamlines

Dundee

Starting XI: Welsh, Donald, Sweenie-Rowe, Howley, Ashcroft, Graham, Allan, Sylla, Mutale, Lewis, Pineda 

Subs: Lynch, Crowther, Murray, Richardson, Craik, Barnett, Lorimer, Baird

United

Starting XI: Adams, Thomson, Duffy, Cleall-Harding, Petrie, Denham, Mwangi, Dewar, MacLeod, O'Donnell, Carnwath

Subs: Haldane, Trotter, Domeracki, Borland, Forbes