First Team
EVERY WORD | JACK WALTON LOOKS AHEAD TO IBROX TEST
21st November 2024
We fell to our first defeat of the season despite a strong second-half display against Rangers.
Dundee United 0
Rangers 1 (Lawrence 7')
12pm Sunday 15 September 2024
The CalForth Construction Arena at Tannadice Park
William Hill Premiership
Attendance: 14,268
Image: Richard Wiseman (Club Photographer)
Team News
Jim Goodwin named another unchanged XI as we clashed with Rangers in DD3.
Both the bench and starting eleven remained the same following our victory at Tynecastle before the international break.
Buoyed by breaking his international duck, Jort van Der Sande continued to lead the line, whilst firepower on the bench came in the form of Louis Moult and Sam Dalby.
Two DUFC Academy Graduates were involved in this afternoon's matchday squad.
Ahead of kick-off, we held a minute of applause for the late Ron Yeats, who sadly passed away last week.
A Mountain to Climb
We found ourselves behind inside just seven minutes.
Tom Lawrence was the man to break the deadlock as a fortunate ricochet allowed him to continue his dart forward before bundling the ball beyond the on-rushing Jack Walton.
Shuffling the Deck
A passive start led to a slight tweak in the shape as Luca Stephenson was shifted out wide and David Babunski adopted a more central role.
It led to our best spell so far, with some sustained pressure inside the Rangers' half - however, we were still yet to test Jack Butland.
In search of more impetus, we made a change ten minutes before the break as Ross Docherty took the place of Kevin Holt.
Tempers almost flared right before the break as Emmanuel Adegboyega was cautioned for a tackle on Connor Barron. There was a quick VAR check for any further action against our number 16, but it was rightly waved away. Jack Butland was also cautioned in the midst for dissent.
Upping the Tempo
Controlling what remained, we had early second-half sightings as the game burst into life in the city of Discovery.
It was Kristijan Trapanovski who was afforded too much time as he cut inside, but his effort from the edge of the area was deflected agonisingly wide of the post.
Our Macedonian maverick then had another opportunity to level proceedings as we forced Rangers into a mistake. It opened up perfectly for the United winger but as he tried to cut inside he was crowded out by Kieran Dowell who did well to recover.
However, despite the pressure, we were unable to force Butland into any significant action as we fell just shy of finding an equaliser.
Much to the surprise of the masses, a limited three additional minutes were added on before Don Robertson brought the match to a close.
TEAMLINES
Dundee United
Starting XI: Walton, Holt, Graham, Trapanovski, Babunski (c), Ferry, Sibbald, Adegboyega, Stephenson, van der Sande, Gallagher
Subs: Richards, Ševelj, Moult, Odada, Middleton, Dalby, Docherty, Thomson, Meshack
Rangers
Starting XI: Butland, Tavernier (c), Propper, Souttar, Cortes, Barron, Dessers, Diomande, Lawrence, Dowell, Jefté
Subs: Kelly, Bajrami, Sterling, Kasanwirjo, Balogun, Igmane, Raskin, McCausland, Fraser
POST-MATCH THOUGHTS
?? Slow start costly
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) September 15, 2024
?? System tweak gave us control
?? Confidence to be taken from performance thereafter
?? Sights now set on a place at Hampden
????? #DUFC Manager Jim Goodwin speaks with DUTV in the aftermath of our @WilliamHill Premiership clash with Rangers pic.twitter.com/3KeMdfs9o3
NEXT UP
There's a place at Hampden up for grabs as we travel to face Motherwell in the Premier Sports Cup Quarter-Final on Friday night.
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