Dundee Utd5–0Motherwell

With Aberdeen having won their match against Kilmarnock, which had kicked off in the afternoon, United had to win their evening home match against Motherwell to regain second place in the Premier Division. Manager Jim McLean stuck with the same line-up that defeated Morton before Christmas.

Despite incessant United pressure during the opening 10 minutes, it took an instinctive save by Hamish McAlpine to preserve the status quo. A Forbes through-ball in 11 minutes caught Richard Gough out of position and McAlpine had to race from his line to block Gahagan's effort with his leg. The game turned within 60 seconds of the half hour mark. McAlpine produced a superb save to divert a wayward header from teammate Derek Stark, and a minute later Paul Sturrock sent Stark clear down the right, and his perfect low cross was fired past Sproat by Ralph Milne to put United in front. Four minutes later United doubled their lead when MacLeod pulled down Sturrock near the bye-line and Eamonn Bannon scored comfortably from the penalty spot.

The third goal came in the 50th minute when Sturrock slammed a first-timer against the cross bar and John Reilly was on hand to hook in the rebound from a couple of yards out. Four minutes later, captain Paul Hegarty made it four, powerfully heading past Sproat at the near post from a Milne free-kick. Paul Sturrock scored United's fifth when he bundled the ball over the line after a Davie Dodds cross had ricocheted off Forsyth. It might have been 6-0 before the end as Hegarty shot past the post from around 6 yards. The final whistle must have been a relief to the weary and outclassed men from Fir Park, who now have a mountain to climb to get clear of the relegation zone. The win ensured that United's displacement from second spot by Aberdeen was only temporary, and the performance earning the team a standing ovation at the end.