Dundee Utd 2
Hibernian 2
League (Premiership)

Match Report

Jackie McNamara kept faith with the same starting side which lost so narrowly to Aberdeen on New Year’s day. After three defeats on the bounce this was a huge game for the hosts who were looking to get back on track against a resurgent Hibs. Fresh from a derby win over Hearts in midweek, Terry Butcher made just the one change to his team, with Paul Heffernan starting up front for the Easter Road side in place of Jason Cummings.

It was an uneventful start in terms of chances but by the 10th minute there were signs the hosts were going to cause trouble with their passing and movement. That said it was the visitors who were first to threaten when a James Collins header from a corner was hacked off the line by John Rankin. It was midway through the half before United first troubled the goal when they were awarded a free kick as Ryan Gauld was upended. The youngster laid off to Nadir Ciftci whose well struck drive was claimed by Ben Williams. There was a strange incident on the half hour mark which ended in controversy from a tangerine point of view. Goalkeeper Ben Williams gave the ball away just outside the box which appeared to gift Gary Mackay-Steven an open goal to shoot at. The Hibs player then felled the winger just as he was shooting which may well have meant Williams seeing red. Much to the confusion of the home contingent the linesman had raised his flag for offside and Williams avoided action. Just as the Terrors were looking the more likely to open the scoring, Hibs cashed in on a defensive error to break the deadlock. Mark Wilson attempted to play the ball to John Souttar but instead gifted an opening to Liam Craig who broke into the area and drilled low past Cierzniak. Brian Graham then replaced Nadir Ciftci who was withdrawn through injury as the home side tried to adjust to the situation.

The Tangerines made a positive start to the half and Gauld shot low past the post in the 47th minute after being set up by Armstrong. David Goodwillie was brought on with just over 30 minutes remaining but straight away Gunning had to cut out a Collins cross to ensure the side were still chasing a single goal deficit. This didn’t last much longer however as Hibs doubled their advantage in 60 minutes. Souttar was adjudged to have pushed Collins down in the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Liam Craig was again the scorer as he sent Cierzniak the wrong way to make it 2-0. As it seemed time was slipping away from the hosts they finally pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute. Graham picked up a loose clearance and squared across goal to David Goodwillie who showed tremendous composure with his back to goal as he spun and slotted home from five yards. With four minutes remaining Graham had a header deflected over the bar for a corner before Mackay-Steven lashed over an angled drive. Rankin then set himself up for a half volley which was powerfully struck but he couldn’t keep it under Williams’s bar. The hosts were throwing everything at getting an equaliser and pushed Gunning up front to aid their cause. In then 90th minute they got their just rewards as they levelled the match. Goodwillie drilled the ball towards goal and Brian Graham was on hand to deflect into the net inside the 6 yard to send the fans behind that goal absolutely wild. There were still 4 minutes of injury time left to grab what would have been the winner of all winners but in the end the point was probably what both sides deserved.

Match Photos courtesy of Riki Grauer - More photos available at:
Dundee United Official Flickr Page