A first-half that got away from us proved costly as Dundee bagged a rare derby victory. 

Dundee United 2 (Middleton 31', Trapanovski 49')

Dundee 4 (McGhee 17', 39', Tiffoney 23', Murray 90'+7 pen)

3pm Sunday 16 March 2025

The CalForth Construction Arena at Tannadice Park

William Hill Premiership

Attendance: 13,000

Images: Richard Wiseman (Club Photographer)

Written By: Lyall Macdonald

The Team Talk

One change was made from the team that drew at Pittodrie a fortnight ago, with Craig Sibbald dropping out of the starting XI to make way for the returning Will Ferry.

Glenn Middleton and Kristijan Trapanovski offered pace and attacking threat out wide, with a midfield three of Vicko Ševelj, Luca Stephenson and Allan Campbell looking to provide service for Sam Dalby up front.

Ross Graham and Kai Fotheringham were the two DUFC Academy graduates involved in our matchday squad. 

Prior to kick-off, the match ball was delivered by Kevin Gallagher, the match-winning hero at Tannadice against Barcelona in 1987 en route to our famous run to the UEFA cup final.

A Fast Start to an Even Opening
 
A frantic start to the game saw neither side keep hold of possession for too long. United had an appeal for a penalty within the first five minutes, however, our pleas were waved away by referee Nick Walsh.

Dundee struggled to create much in the opening minutes, with United enjoying much of the early possession. Trapanovski was a thorn in the right-hand side of the Dundee defence, however, the Dundee backline were equal to his crossed efforts in the opening stages.


 
Scott Tiffoney had the first Dundee chance of the game, as a quick breakaway from the visitors earned some space around the edge of the box; however his tame effort made for an easy save for Jack Walton.
 
Dundee Piling on the Pressure
 
The visitors thought they had opened the scoring after Lyall Cameron tapped in a parried shot from Walton, but Oluwasuen was adjudged to have been offside from a Trevor Carson pass in the build-up following a VAR check.  
 
A break in play following a collision between Ziyad Larkeche and Luca Stephenson allowed both teams to settle down after a frenetic start to the game. Stephenson was regrettably unable to continue, with Craig Sibbald coming on in his place.
 
It didn’t take long for the afternoon's first goal as, unfortunately, the visitors were not to be denied for much longer. Immediately following the restart, Dundee found space on the left-hand side of the pitch, and Larkeche floated a ball into the box for Jordan McGhee to head home, edging the visitors ahead with twenty minutes on the clock.


 
Dundee soon added to their lead as a rasping shot from Scott Tiffoney found its way into the net from an uncharacteristic error from Walton, and United had it all to do.
 
Sibbald was the first to respond with a clear-cut chance for United, however, his fierce effort from the edge of the box was well held by Carson in the Dundee net.
 
Back Within One
 
After a nightmare start, we reduced the deficit as Aaron Donnelly gave possession away cheaply just outside the Dundee box, which was picked up by Craig Sibbald, and his lay-off teed up Glenn Middleton to find the top left corner with a superb strike.


 
United then passed up a great opportunity to level proceedings, as Ferry was found in plenty of space on the left-hand side of the box. The chance was lost as Dundee cleared through a sea of navy and tangerine bodies.

Dominant Dark Blues
 
Dundee ended the half the stronger of the two teams, with the attacking midfield three of Tiffoney, Mulligan and Aduwemi causing United all sorts of problems on the counter.

Aduwemi found himself in space just inside the United box and played the ball to the oncoming Jordan McGhee. The Dundee right-back’s shot from 18 yards was sweetly hit as Dundee once again found themselves two goals to the good.
 
VAR spared United’s blushes for the second time as another Dundee goal was ruled out for offside with half-time approaching. Ross Graham’s own goal was disallowed as Simon Murray was offside during the build-up.
 
The first half ended with the visitors maintaining their two-goal lead, leaving United with plenty of work to do in the second half.

A Rapid Response
 
Sam Dalby brilliantly kept possession as United surged towards the Dundee box within minutes of the restart. Eluding the Dundee defence, he latched on to a poor header from Donnelly before strongly shielding the ball from Cameron. Instead of opting to add to his 13 league goals, our number 19 found Trapanovski in acres of space, and United’s number 7 found the bottom right corner with aid of a deflection to leave Carson helpless.


 
The first twenty minutes of the second period belonged to United, as Dundee struggled to maintain any meaningful possession in the opposition half.

In Search of a Leveller
 
As the second half wore on, United enjoyed most of the possession as we kept Dundee penned into their defensive third.
 
We still had to keep on our toes, as a looping Donnelly cross into the box was headed towards goal by Shaughnessy, but his header bounced over the bar as Dundee failed to add to their slender one goal advantage.

Dundee enjoyed sustained possession in the United half in what was a rare period of dominance, as shouts for a penalty from the away end were waved away by referee Walsh. Aduwemi was grounded under pressure from substitute Emmanuel Adegboyega, however his appeals fell on deaf ears as play raged on.
 
Not Our Day
 
All-out attack was the game plan for United as we searched for a late equaliser. With the match edging towards injury time, Dalby was soon joined up top by substitute forwards Jort van der Sande, Ruari Paton and Louis Moult as we mounted wave after wave of attack on the Dundee rearguard.
 
A frustrating afternoon ended in disappointment as the visitors claimed all three points through a Simon Murray penalty. Our hopes of a late equaliser were dashed when Adegboyega was shown a red card for a last-man challenge just before the spot-kick, leaving us empty-handed despite a determined late push.

Post-Match Thoughts

Teamlines

Dundee United

Starting XI: Walton, Strain, Ševelj, Graham, Trapanovski, Ferry, Middleton, Stephenson, Dalby, Campbell, Gallagher (c)
 
Subs: Richards, Moult, Babunski, Sibbald, Adegboyega, Fotheringham, van der Sande, Paton, Docherty

Dundee

Starting Xi: Carson, Shaughnessy (c), McGhee, Tiffoney, Mulligan, Cameron, Adewumi, Murray, Larkeche, Sylla, Donnelly
 
Subs: McCracken, Sharp, Ingram, Astley, Hines-Samuels, Garza Cantu, Reilly, Robertson, Lopez Samano

Next Up
 
We're back in action following the international break as we travel to Ross County on Sunday March 30th for a 2.30pm kick-off live on Premier Sports.

CLICK HERE for ticket details!

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